Quotation marks + punctuation (Guest:Richard3)

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Guest

#896 Mon, 16 Jun 03 11:49 PM

When using quotation marks, does one insert punctuation marks that are not actually part of the quotation inside or outside the closing quotation mark?

Examples: "...there was much fighting in the area," which indicates that ....

or should it be:

"...fighting in the area", which indicates that ....

I am seeing more books with the latter example and I think I was taught the former when I was in school. Has the general rule changed or am I remembering wrongly?

Guest

Punctuation, Quotation marks

hitchhiker

#899 Tue, 17 Jun 03 01:53 AM

I'd say definitely the latter..

a) The punctuation is not part of the quote, so it shouldn't be inside the quotation marks.
b) The punctuation is separating the quote from the rest of the sentence, hence it's appearance outside.

"...fighting in the area", which indicates that.. is correct in English.

hitchhiker

Joined on Mon, Nov 18 2002

Brit in Malta

Structural Member (3,368)

www.englishforums.com

Punctuation, Quotation marks

carla

#904 Tue, 17 Jun 03 02:38 AM

FYI, in the United States almost all punctuation goes inside the quotation marks, so there the former would be correct. In the United Kingdom (and therefore Europe, I assume) it would be outside though, as hitchhiker says.

carla

Joined on Fri, Apr 11 2003

New User (06)

Punctuation, Quotation marks

hitchhiker

#905 Tue, 17 Jun 03 02:53 AM

Hey Carla, good to have you back!

What on earth would be the reasoning behind that?! They have got a good reason right?

I'm not even going into the 'centre/center' debate.
Also see our frequently asked questions

hitchhiker

Punctuation, Quotation marks

kitkattail

#4091 Tue, 12 Aug 03 04:36 PM

I don't think there is a good reason. I believe the convention arose because printers found that it was easier to read and worked better with the printing technology of the day... or some such thing. But don't quote me on that; I could be wrong.

kitkattail

Joined on Tue, Aug 12 2003

Toronto

Frequent Poster (400)

Punctuation, Quotation marks

Guest

#22621 Tue, 17 Feb 04 12:31 AM

I am new and I came across this website as a result of a Google search for punctuation marks. I am actually doing a lot of editing and proofreading these days. The writer I am currently working on seems to detest introducing quoted material with anything so mundane as "He said, she said."

Typically, he writes in the following way:

=== Yaja smiled at the king. “Your wife desired a daughter." ===

My question is about that period. It doesn't seem right to me. I think the logical relationship between the two is clear here and a comma would be the correct punctuation to use.

On the other hand, what about this:

=== Again the heavenly voice was heard. “This is Krishnaa, who has appeared to do the work of the gods and to bring about the destruction of countless evil princes.” ===

Is a period, comma, or colon more appropriate here?

In case you are interested, this is from a popularization of the Indian epic, Mahabharata.

I'll be registering under the username Jagat and will be back.

Thanks for your help.

Guest

Colons, Commas, Punctuation, Quotation marks, Proofreading

rommie

#22664 Tue, 17 Feb 04 02:17 PM

I'm too busy to answer this now, but I'll answer it this evening if you can hang on a few hours. There ARE differences between British English and American English. Will talk later. Rommie.