In Paragraphs^x, Question marks^x, Colons^x

These punctuation marks (the British call them inverted commas ) come in two forms, double and single. The double quotation marks (opening “ and closing ”) are used to enclose the words of a direct quotation: She said, “I’ll never see you again.” (They are never used in indirect quotation: She...

To me, the rules regarding punctuation around quotation marks are not always logical. To 'remember' them, I extracted the following from Webster's Third New International Dictionary : 13.1 Direct quotations: "When I am dead," said one of the keenest minds, "lay a sword on my coffin." ...

And how about this, from the second paragraph of the 'Eats Shoots etc' excerpt?-- Cruelty to punctuation is quite unlegislated: you can get away with pulling the legs off semicolons; shrivelling question marks on the garden path under a powerful magnifying glass; you name it. Shouldn't...

The (incomplete) Punctuation FAQ Hopefully this will grow in time, as other questions are asked and answered, and other people add to this. Hopefully (!) some kind moderator or adminstrator will mark this thread as sticky. INTRODUCTION In grammar, the rules are forged in a delicate...