Search results for 'tag:American English tag:Quotation marks' matching tags 'American English' and 'Quotation marks'

Re: Punctuation within quotes?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:06:53 GMT

These punctuation marks (the British call them inverted commas) come in two forms, double and single. The double quotation marks (opening â and closing â) are used to enclose the words of a direct quotation: She said, âIâll never see you again.â (They are never used in indirect quotation: She said sheâd never see him again.) They are also used to enclose words or phrases quoted from others or words that may be slang or that are in some other way being used peculiarly: The speaker tried to put a favorable âspinâ on his denial. The âpacification planâ was in fact simply a euphemism for a bloody conquest. But be sparing: most editors discourage the use of such quotation marks for effect rather than for a substantive reason, and overuse of these marks in any writing is affected.	1
Convention also calls for double quotation marks around the titles of short stories, short poems, short musical compositions, and the names of plays, chapters in books, and radio and television programs: Frostâs âThe Road Not Taken,â âEye Witness News.â (Titles of longer works usually require italics instead, and sometimes the decision is arbitrary or simply conventional: books of the Bible, for example, are almost always italicized rather than placed in quotation marks, and the same is true of the titles of Shakespeareâs plays.)	2
A key problem with quotation marks is which other marks of punctuation go inside the closing quotation mark(s) and which belong outside. In the United States, most stylebooks and most editors follow these rules: periods and commas belong inside, colons and semicolons outside. Other marksâquestion mark, dash, and exclamation point, for exampleâgo inside when they belong with the quoted material, outside when they belong to the main sentence. British editorial conventions differ.	3
When quoting a long passage of two or more paragraphs, the usual procedure in written American English is to use no quotation marks and instead to set off the entire passage of quoted matter by indenting it. If you decide to use quotation marks instead, however, the usual procedure is to begin each paragraph of the long quotation with quotation marks but to use a closing quotation mark only at the end of the final sentence in the quoted passage. In any event, use only one of these methods with any given quotation. See also POETRY.	4
British publishers frequently use single quotation marks (opening â and closing â) where Americans use double quotation marks. In American writing, however, single quotation marks are restricted mainly to enclosing a quotation within a quotation: The dealer said, âIâm sorry, I thought you said âI pass.ââ Note that a period goes inside both final quotation marks when the two quotations end together.

Re: The question mark/comma/quotation mark debacle

RayH — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:30:19 GMT

Please note that American English likes to place the final punctuation mark inside a title or quotation, even though it doesn't form part of it.
The British regard this practice as illogical.
AmE: He's always wanted to read "Moby Dick," "Oliver Twist" and "The Great Gatsby."

BrE: He's always wanted to read "Moby Dick", "Oliver Twist" and "The Great Gatsby".

Here is the link to the site this came from if you want to check it yourself. The relevant section is near the bottom of the screen under the heading "quotation marks".

HTH

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/punctuation.htm

Re: Punctuation inside the quotation marks

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 05:51:16 GMT

Commas and periods go inside the quotation marks only in American English. I'm American, so they look great that way; but I'm not sure it would be helpful to teach this in Europe. I normally just tell my students how the British do it.

Re: Punctuation within quotes?

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:37:56 GMT

For american English, a period ending a sentence should always go inside the quotation marks. A question mark ending a sentence goes inside the quotation marks if you are quoting a question, outside if you are asking a question, inside if both. You should never have punctuation both inside and outside the quotation marks.

She said, "Go to the store."
Did she say "Go to the store"?
She said, "Should I go to the store?"
Did she say "Should I go to the store?"

Re: Punctuation within quotes?

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 21:14:03 GMT

In British English the punctuation goes within the quotation marks when the quotation is a complete sentence, but when the quotation is only an excerpt of the whole quotation the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks.
In American English it is different.

Re: Is full stop before or after quotation marks?

Grammar Geek — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 04:30:41 GMT

As Mr. M says, it's a matter of style. American style, for better for for worse (and most would agree it is often for the worse) is to ALWAYS place the period/full stop inside the quote marks.

I am the one who had never heard of an ergative verb before I came to this site, but I'm also the one who edits business writing all the time. If you want me to find all the citations in the AP Style Book, the Chicago Manual of Styles, etc., I will, but really, truly... American English puts the quote on the outside.

The word you are now thinking is "ridiculous."

Re: Change English As You Wish

Cool Breeze — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:02:48 GMT

Julielai wrote:
Is it too late to add one?

I'd get rid of that American English rule that tells you to put all other punctuations before the closing quotation mark.

Hi Julielai

It's never too late to add one, I'm sorry I forgot to mention that in my lengthy post. All additions are welcome.

Cheers
CB

Re: Change English As You Wish

julielai — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 02:24:19 GMT

Is it too late to add one?

I'd get rid of that American English rule that tells you to put all other punctuations before the closing quotation mark.

Re: Comma before because

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 18:38:17 GMT

I'm sure your intended recipient is delighted to be assisted in such a charming and generous manner. To the point, one shouldn't 'always include commas and periods inside quotation marks'. That only applies to American English. British English, for one, places punctuation outside the quotation marks (single in the first instance and often called inverted commas or speech marks) unless the punctuation applies to the quoted material.

Re: the why of the question

Grammar Geek — Thu, 25 May 2006 03:51:08 GMT

The exception is for quotations.

"I'm ready to leave now," he said. The comma ends the quotation, which is indicated by the close-quotation marks, and the entire sentence (the part that includes "he said") is ended with the period.

Note that in American English, the period or comman ALWAYS goes inside the quotes, even if it logically doesn't make sense. I don't like this rule, I just follow it. However, it appears from reading the posts of my esteemed colleagues from across the pond that they put the period or comma outside the quote marks.