Search results for 'tag:Quotation marks tag:Colons' matching tags 'Quotation marks' and 'Colons'

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: inverted commas

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:05:09 GMT

You should use a semi colon : before quotes, not a comma. Use a comma at the end if the sentence continues. Otherwise a full stop inside the quotation marks

Thus

I thought to myself :"It is hardly a good look when they've got a Hollywood star to launch the venue."

In the case of the Coronation Street remark it makes no sense anyway as Coronation Street cannot speak, except in the Aberdeen Evening Express ! People speak.

If anything it should be -- A Coronation Street producer ( or whatever) once said :" No star is bigger than the show."

Re: Speech - capitalisation

Cool Breeze — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:36:31 GMT

Sentence 1 is fine if you place the period/full stop right after hard, before the quotation mark. The comma after say is correct as well. A colon could be used instead of it and is quite common if the quotation is long.

Sentence 2 is fine with me as it is. I wouldn't put working hard in quotes at all and to have appears redundant to me. There are different ways to see and do things. If you want to write sentence 2 the way you have written it, by all means, do! I abhor uniformity.

Re: Quotations, commas, and capitalization

Akavall — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:28:17 GMT

Maybe the colon use is not American, but is it OK to use it?

According to wikipedia (on colon usage):

"segmental: introduces a direct speech, in combination with quotation marks and dashes.

..

Julian Duguid, author of Green Hell (1931), starts his book boldly: âWhen a man yields to the urge of Ishmael . . .â "

So it seems that colon works too, but I am not sure that the example here and the one on wikipedia are dealing with identical situations.

Re: Punctuation within quotes?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:33:53 GMT

I find these rules at http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp very helpful.

Rule 1	Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes.
	Examples	The sign changed from "Walk," to "Don't Walk," to "Walk" again within 30 seconds.
		She said, "Hurry up."
		She said, "He said, 'Hurry up.'"

Rule 2	The placement of question marks with quotes follows logic. If a question is in quotation marks, the question mark should be placed inside the quotation marks.
	Examples	She asked, "Will you still be my friend?"
		Do you agree with the saying, "All's fair in love and war"? Here the question is outside the quote.
	NOTE	Only one ending punctuation mark is used with quotation marks. Also, the stronger punctuation mark wins. Therefore, no period after war is used.

Rule 3	When you have a question outside quoted material AND inside quoted material, use only one question mark and place it inside the quotation mark.
	Example	Did she say, "May I go?"

Rule 4	Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes. Note that the period goes inside all quote marks.
	Example	He said, "Danea said, 'Do not treat me that way.'"

Rule 5	Use quotation marks to set off a direct quotation only.
	Examples	"When will you be here?" he asked.
		He asked when you will be there.

Rule 6

Do not use quotation marks with quoted material that is more than three lines in length. Introduce the quotation with a colon and leave a blank line above and below the quoted material. Single space the quoted material. Some style manuals say to indent one-half inch on both the left and right margins; others say to indent only on the left margin. Quotation marks are not used.

Rule 7	When you are quoting something that has a spelling or grammar mistake or presents material in a confusing way, insert the term sic in italics and enclose it in brackets. Sic means, "This is the way the original material was."
	Example	She wrote, "I would rather die then [sic] be seen wearing the same outfit as my sister has on." Should be than, not then.

Re: Please correct these sentences.

Buddhaheart — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:04:11 GMT

1. Yes.

2. Yes & no. Yes with some modification: "... as the local one". No as this may be elided, implied or understood. Theoretically, Iâll go with your assertion.

3. No. Neglect means the act or fact of giving too little attention or care. Negligence applied to the quality of being inclined to neglect, shown by inattentiveness to work or duty or carelessness in doing it. "2^nd that redundant?" Not necessarily.

4. I would probably get rid of the semi-colon, add a commas after "profitability" and end the sentence with the closing quotation mark. Now without the semi-colon, do you still object to the "that" after "argues"?

Re: How is the grammar on this?

Lil' Ruby Rose — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:39:23 GMT

I believe that the ghost that has appeared before me truly is my fatherâs spirit, and that everything it has said is true. The ghost did not flee before Horatioâs âcross,â [no quotation marks needed here] and it shows Christian forbearance towards my âcommonâ [not quite the right word here, and why have you used quotation marks?] mother. Thus, I have no choice but to believe that this spirit truly is my fatherâs and not a devil trying to imitate him. I have little choice, then: I must avenge his spirit, and kill my uncle, Claudius! My fatherâs spirit calls to me, and I must avenge his foul murder!

This is not a selfish act of revenge, but an act of justice. Claudius is a tyrant: he killed a king, and worse, he killed his own brother, all to satisfy his own [repetition of own - redundant here, all your private ambitions are your own] private ambitions. He is guilty of a sacrilegious attack upon the hierarchy and order instituted by natural law; by killing my father, Claudius destroyed this natural order, and it is my responsibility to right this wrong!

The killing of my uncle must be done quickly, and discretely. Claudius is no fool, and I am certain that the blood upon his hands will cause him to become paranoid; he will undoubtedly reach a stage where he deems it necessary to eliminate all threats in order to secure [consolidate?] his power and I am certain that I would be [will be or am going to be] his first target. So I must act [strike?] first! [no exclamation mark here] I cannot poison my uncle or assassinate him in public. Such acts are [respectively?] too cowardly and too dangerous; a public murder could result in me being tried for treason. [the two parts of this sentence don't follow each other. I would use a colon after public, then full stop after dangerous and make the second clause a separate sentence]

The most discrete and most practical method of killing my uncle would be to stab him as he is sleeping with my âincestuousâ [why quotation marks?] mother. Being the prince means I can walk around the castle freely and carry my sword without arousing suspicion. At night, I could simply slip in, cover Claudiusâ mouth to suppress his screams, and stab at his heart! [stab him in/through the heart - no exclamation mark] Then, I can wake my mother and explain to her the reason for the assassination. This would fully comply with my fatherâs wishes, as not only would my uncle be dead, but my mother would not be harmed directly. All would soon be well.

The next [following] day, I will deal with the court and the public. The latter would be easy to deal with [repetition of deal with - appease/placate?], as I am loved by the people, and they will quickly accept me over Claudius. Further, the common people would not dare interfere in the affairs of kings; they will not make too much commotion, I am sure. The court, however, will be harder to convince and silence. Questions will be asked, and I will have to answer [them or which I will have to answer]. Nevermind! [Never mind is two words, it's not quite the right choice of phrase here, and no exclamation point] I am the heir to the throne and the court could not, in reality, do anything. I could silence any who oppose my power [I would either say anyone who opposes or all who oppose]; I am, after all, the rightful Prince [at this point, surely Hamlet is the rightful King rather than just the Prince?]of Denmark! I will soon be elected [by definition, kings are not elected] king and [will] rule over my people justly; just as my father did, and just as he expects me to do.

Looks pretty good to me. You have a lot of long and rather complex sentence constructions here (heavy on the semicolons!), but the declamatory tone seems quite appropriate.

Re: Is full stop before or after quotation marks?

J Lewis — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 17:20:05 GMT

I sometimes use the word "clever" when describing a person.
Here it is clear that the full stop has nothing to do with the quoted word and is part of the main sentence. The word "clever" doesn't need its own full stop. If we are quoting somebody speaking, then the quoted speech needs its own punctuation, which falls inside the quotes.
They said, "He's very clever." Note that a true quote begins with a capital letter.
What about commas?
If I don't like the word "clever", I say "smart" or something similar. Where would others put the comma in this case?

More problems arise with question and exclamation marks, which have the value of a full stop.
She said, "I love you!" This means she said it forcefully. The exclamation is hers.
She said, "I love you"! This shows that the speaker is over the moon about the fact that she loves him. The exclamation is the speaker's.

How about this one:
Did he really shout "Stop!"?
Here I should also put a question mark after "How about this one:" but it seems excessive! And would I put it before or after the colon?! Or even after the quote?!

To be logical, we should end a lot of sentences with full stop, end of quote, second full stop. We don't do this and the decision as to where to put the single full stop can be rather arbitrary.

Re: is this sentence correct

Marius Hancu — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 03:26:52 GMT

IMO, this type of colon is similar to:
--------

the segmental colon : introduces a direct speech, in combination with quotation marks and dashes.

This ... was once a common means of indicating an unmarked quotation on the same line (from the Fowlers' grammar book, The King's English)

Benjamin Franklin proclaimed the virtue of frugality:â A penny saved is a penny earned.
---------

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. "