Search results for 'tag:Question marks tag:Semicolons' matching tags 'Question marks' and 'Semicolons'

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: questions about possibility

Mr Wordy — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:51:33 GMT

Hi Tuongvan, you have continuing problems with spacing around punctuation.

You do not need spaces before question marks:

Who could have broken it ? -- incorrect (or non-standard)

Who could have broken it? -- correct

When you use a full stop, comma, colon or semicolon, put a single space after it, and no space before.

Situation1 :The window was broken yesterday .Now I ask Jim : -- incorrect

Situation 1: The window was broken yesterday. Now I ask Jim: -- correct

As far as your other questions are concerned, I've tried to describe my usage below, as best I can.

Who could/can have broken it? -- Both OK.
Who might have broken it? -- OK, but to me tends to suggest that there are a known group of suspects.
Who may have broken it? -- not natural to me.

Is Jack coming to Ann's birthday party? / Is Jack going to come to Ann's birthday party? -- These are the most common ways to ask.
Will Jack come to Ann's birthday party? -- OK.
Might Jack come to Ann's birthday party? -- Possible; more polite, and tends to imply greater doubt about whether he'll come.
May Jack come to Ann's birthday party? -- Could theoretically mean "does Jack have permission to come", but this use is somewhat old-fashioned, and the sentence is not very natural to me.
Can Jack come to Ann's birthday party? -- Fine. Asks if he is able to come (has permission/opportunity).
Could Jack come to Ann's birthday party? -- Same, but expresses greater doubt/politeness.

Could he have lost his way? -- Fine.
Can he have lost his way? -- OK, but less likely.
Might he have lost his way? -- OK; more formal.
May he have lost his way? -- Not natural to me.

Re: In-sentence lists of questions

Clive — Mon, 26 May 2008 03:39:49 GMT

Hi,

What is the best way to list complete questions in a sentence? Questions that should be read with the upward inflection?

For example:

The Document's inconsistent application and its selective inclusion of concerns raise troublesome questions: how might people determine which ideas should be rules, how should they ascertain which ideas have already become rules, how might authorities determine the content of binding ideas, what rights not mentioned in the Document should be protected, and which of these other rights should have equal footing with rights in the Document.

Is it best to use commas, semicolons, question marks?

I'd say the simplest way to do it is this.

The document's inconsistent application and its selective inclusion of concerns raise troublesome questions. How might people determine which ideas should be rules? How should they ascertain which ideas have already become rules? How might authorities determine the content of binding ideas? What rights not mentioned in the document should be protected? Which of these other rights should have equal footing with rights in the document?

Is there some reason that you need to capitalize 'Document'?

Best wishes, Clive

In-sentence lists of questions

Anonymous — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:46:09 GMT

What is the best way to list complete questions in a sentence? Questions that should be read with the upward inflection?

For example:

Is it best to use commas, semicolons, question marks?

Thanks, Jay

Re: {[(1+2)3+4]5+6}7+8=505

Teo — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:33:42 GMT

http://evotalk.net/blog/?p=108

Symbol	Description
&	Ampersand (And)
*ã	Asterisk
@	At sign, at
\ã	Backslash
[ã	Open bracket
^	Caret
]	Close bracket
(	Open parenthesis
)ã	Close parenthesis
:	Colon
,	Comma
$	Dollar sign
â	Double dash
â¦	Ellipsis
â	Single quote
â	Quote
=	Equals
+	Plus, plus sign
!	Exclamation point
>	Greater than
<	Less than
#	Pound sign
?	Question mark
.	Period, dot
;	Semicolon
-	Hyphen
â	Dash
_	Underscore
	\| Vertical bar
{	Open brace
}	Close brace
%	Percent, percent sign
/	Slash
//	Double slash
~	Tilde

Re: full stop and quotation mark

Inchoateknowledge — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:42:21 GMT

"Place commas and periods inside, not outside, quotation marks. Place all other punctuation outside quotation marks unless it was contained in the original source. Follow this practice whether or not the comma is part of the original quotation. The general rule is that commas and periods should be inside the quotation marks at all times, while all other forms of punctuation, such as question marks, colons, semicolons, and exclamation points, should be outside the quotation marks, unless they were contained in the original quotation. "

Re: Punctuation within quotes?

rvw — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:14:57 GMT

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."

13.2 In long quotations, left-hand marks are placed at the beginning of every paragraph, as well as at the end of the selection.

13.3 Quotation marks are usually not used when the quoted matter is set in smaller type or in paragraphs indented on both sides.

13.4 Single quotation marks enclose a quotation within a quotation. The witness said, "I heard him say, 'Don't be late'; then I heard the door close."

13.5 Quotation marks enclose titles of short poems, paintings, lectures, articles, and parts or chapters of books. (Titles of whole books, periodicals, and newspapers are usually italicized in context.)

13.5.1 In American usage printers usually place a period or comma inside closing quotation marks whether it belongs logically to the quoted matter or to the whole sentence or context.... But when a logical or exact distinction is desired in specialized work in which clarity is more important than usual (as in this dictionary), a period or comma can be placed outside quotation marks when it belongs not in the quoted matter but to a larger unit containing the quoted matter. The package is labeled "Handle with Care".

13.5.2 Only one other mark accompanies closing quotation marks, whether the quotation and the whole sentence or context call for the same mark or for different marks. We shouted, "Where do you think you're going?" Why did you bellow, "Get out of here!"

13.5.3 A colon or semicolon is usually placed outside of quotation marks. "Fame is proof that people are gullible"; with this quotation, he retired in silence.

13.5.4 A colon or semicolon is sometimes placed inside the quotation marks when it belongs inseparably to the quotation. However, a terminal colon or semicolon of quoted matter incorporated in a sentence usually gives place to appropriate end punctuation. "Sirs:" is a salutation....

13.5.5 A question mark or exclamation point is usually placed inside or outside the quotation marks according to whether it belongs to the quoted matter or to the whole sentence or clause that includes the quotation. Can you forget his angry exit after he shouted "Include me out"? "And what do you think of this new novel?" his friend asked.

13.6 Quotation marks, often single quotation marks, sometimes enclose technical terms unfamiliar to the reader; words used in an unusual sense; and coined word, trade or shop jargon, or slang for which the writer implies a slight apology. An "em" is a unit of measure used in printing. He is "goofy" according to their lingo. 'Strangeness' is a property of elementary particles.

Re: Another Punctuation Question

Mister Micawber — Tue, 28 Dec 2004 07:24:28 GMT

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 those semicolons be commas? I haven't time at the moment to read more of her excerpt, but thanks for pulling it up, MH-- I've been meaning to take a look at that book for a long time now, and will get back to this site soon.

Question on punctuation

Guest — Mon, 09 Feb 2004 16:09:58 GMT

In the following three sentences are they punctuated correctly? Thanks for any help you can give me.

1. After he began the meeting he said " I am not staying."

(Should there be a comma after said? Should the period be inside of the quotation mark?)

2. Have you ever read the article entitled, "English for Careers"?

(Should there be a comma after entitled and should the question mark be inside of the quotation mark?)

3. Carley Simons wanted her death to be remembered; therefore, she staged a pagent.

(Should there be a semicolon after remembered and a comma after therefore?)

Thanks alot!!

Re: Do I use a capital letter if I am writing a list?

wumanfu — Thu, 25 Sep 2003 10:33:46 GMT

Hi, If my child was marked down because she used a capital letter for words in a spelling test, Iâd be angry with the teacher. When I went to school, my spelling exercises tested for spelling not style. However, if your child is a high school student and if the teacher was marking hard, then maybeâ¦ In any case, there is information about how to write words in a list on the internet. It comes from a component of Merriam-Websterâs Unabridged resource called Style Guide. The relevant section is called Lists and Outlines. Iâve dumped more information than you need. I hope the information helps explain issues related to stylistic conventions in the United States.
If you get bored before you reach the end, then maybe the following section is best:
Items that are syntactically dependent on the words that introduce them often begin with a lowercase letter and end with a comma or semicolon just as in
a run-in series in an ordinary sentence.
However, you could argue that a spelling test could be considered to be like an outline. In the case of an outline, then capital letters are appropriate:
Outlines standardly use Roman numerals, capitalized letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters, in that order. Each numeral or letter is followed
by a period, and each item is capitalized.
My own opinion is that the teacherâs style is unhelpful and discouraging.
Sincerely, Wu

Here is a dump from the Merriam-Webster Style Guide
21. Both run-in and vertical lists are often numbered. In run-in numbered listsâthat is, numbered lists that form part of a normal-looking sentenceâeach
item is preceded by a number (or, less often, an italicized letter) enclosed in parentheses. The items are separated by commas if they are brief and unpunctuated;
if they are complex or punctuated, they are separated by semicolons. The entire list is introduced by a colon if it is preceded by a full clause, and often
when it is not.
Among the fastest animals with measured maximum speeds are (1) the cheetah, clocked at 70 mph; (2) the pronghorn antelope, at 61 mph; (3) the lion, at 50
mph; (4) the quarter horse, at 47 mph; and (5) the elk, at 45 mph.

The new medical dictionary has several special features: (a) common variant spellings; (b) examples of words used in context; (c) abbreviations, combining
forms, prefixes, and suffixes; and (d) brand names for drugs and their generic equivalents.
22. In vertical lists, each number is followed by a period; the periods align vertically. Runover lines usually align under the item's first word. Each
item may be capitalized, especially if the items are syntactically independent of the words that introduce them.
The English peerage consists of five ranks, listed here in descending order:
Duke (duchess)
Marquess (marchioness)
Earl (countess)
Viscount (viscountess)
Baron (baroness)
The listed items end with periods (or question marks) when they are complete sentences, and also often when they are not.
We require answers to the following questions:
Does the club intend to engage bands to perform in the future?
Will any bands be permitted to play past midnight on weekends?
Are there plans to install proper acoustic insulation?
Items that are syntactically dependent on the words that introduce them often begin with a lowercase letter and end with a comma or semicolon just as in
a run-in series in an ordinary sentence.
Among the courts that are limited to special kinds of cases are
1. probate courts, for the estates of deceased persons;
2. commercial courts, for business cases;
3. juvenile courts, for cases involving children under 18; and
4. traffic courts, for minor cases involving highway and motor vehicle violations.
A vertical list may also be unnumbered, or may use bullets (â¢) in place of numerals, especially where the order of the items is not important.
Chief among the advances in communication were these 19th-century inventions:
Morse's telegraph
Daguerre's camera
Bell's telephone
Edison's phonograph
This book covers in detail:
â¢ Punctuation
â¢ Capitalization and italicization
â¢ Numbers
â¢ Abbreviations
â¢ Grammar and composition
â¢ Word usage
23. Outlines standardly use Roman numerals, capitalized letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters, in that order. Each numeral or letter is followed
by a period, and each item is capitalized.
The United States from 1816 to 1850
Era of mixed feelings
Effects of the War of 1812
National disunity
The economy
Transportation revolution
Waterways
Railroads
Beginnings of industrialization
The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-77