Period FAQs

when does a period go outside quotations

by Prof. Jeremy Runte Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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If you place quotation marks around a letter or number, usually the period or comma falls outside the quotes. Consider the following example: I got three “Bs” and an “A”. This is the only incidence that ignores the fact that most periods go inside quotation marks.

Place the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence. Phillip asked, "Do you need this book?" Does Dr. Lim always say to her students, "You must work harder"?

Full Answer

Do quotations go inside or outside of the period?

Wondering whether to put a period inside or outside quotes? The correct choice is almost always inside. In American usage, commas and periods at the end of quotes always go inside the quotation marks. In British usage, they can go either inside or outside.

When do you use a period?

The most common use of periods is to end sentences. When used this way, the period is placed immediately after the last letter of the final word of a sentence. Usually, a new sentence following a period begins with a capital letter: It is snowing outside. We are going to build a snowman.

When do you put in a period in a sentence?

When to Use Periods

  • Rinse the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.
  • Lock the door behind you.
  • Place recyclable items in the blue bin next to the dumpster.

When do you Know Your period is over?

Your period is over when bleeding stops completely. Periods are short or long, heavy or light, but the average time length for a period is 4 to 8 days. The first years of your period may be irregular but the cycle will stabilize after your teens. Then you will know your monthly routine including the frequency, duration, and flow.

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Do you put a period in a quotation?

For people in the United States, periods and commas go inside the quotation marks.

Do you need to punctuate after a colon?

In the second example, when a question or exclamation mark comes at the end of a sentence, there’s no need for an additional ending punctuation after the quote marks.

Should you leave a colon in a quote?

Is the colon, semicolon, parenthesis, exclamation point, or question mark a part of the direct quote? If that’s the case, you should leave it as part of the quotation, placing it inside the quotation marks.

Do exclamation points go inside or outside the quotation marks?

For instance, the rules about whether to include exclamation points inside or outside the quotation marks may vary from guide to guide. Luckily, when it comes to periods and commas, the answer to whether they go inside or outside the quotation mark is much simpler. If you’re using American English, they go inside.

When to use a comma in a quote?

As in the example above, a comma is used before quotation marks to introduce a direct quote. If the description of the quote’s speaker is placed after the quotation, a comma is always placed within the quotation marks.

What is a quote mark?

Quotation marks are most often used to mark something that is spoken or, in other words, to designate a direct quote. That is, they display something that’s been said, word for word.

What is a scare quote?

Scare Quotes: Also known as air quotes, sneer quotes, or shudder quotes, scare quotes are put around a word or phrase to note atypical usage or disapproval. Oftentimes, scare quotes are used with a negative or sarcastic tone that distances the person using the scare quotes from the person (real or hypothetical) that they’re quoting.

Do you put a comma in a quotation?

In American English, commas and periods should be placed within the quotation marks as long as they do not change the meaning of the quotation. In instances where punctuation would change the meaning of the quotation—that is, when the punctuation, such as a question mark or exclamation point, does not belong to the quotation—it should be placed outside of the quotation marks.

Do you capitalize a quote in a sentence?

Alternatively, when a quote only references a fragment of a quote, a phrase, or part of a sentence, the first word of the quote does not need to be capitalized. This includes cases when a quote is interrupted by a description.

Is a quotation a punctuation?

As you’ve probably noticed, quotation marks are an extremely common set of punctuation marks. Continue your journey to grammatical excellence, and follow along with this guide to brush up on the rules of using quotation marks.

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