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

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: Diffrenses

Marius Hancu — Wed, 24 May 2006 01:42:26 GMT

I'd suggest making a search at Yahoo with:
spelling differences british american english
(no quotation marks)

You will find very many good references, including:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences

Re: help me with this sentence

Mister Micawber — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 00:47:55 GMT

Well first, punctuation is not usually included in grammar, and the former can be even slipperier than the latter. In this case (as in many), it is more a matter of what communicates most clearly. I think all of yours are OK; I do have opinions (see below), but they are not important:

a "by the number," legally defined process -- comma should be outside the quotation mark.

a "by the number" process -- no complaint from me

a by-the-mumber process -- no complaint except spelling: number

a "by-the-number" process-- I'd say that this is slight overkill.

One point that should be made is that quotation marks are used for (among other things) indicating an unusual, new or unexpected use of a word or phrase; for that reason, I would probably reject the quotation-mark forms you have listed, since the idiom seems to have its usual connotation here.

Structure question.

Mister Micawber — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 06:36:43 GMT

Hi DK,

Welcome to englishforums.

"Press on the wound. That will stop the bleeding". The 'that' is not a relative pronoun for a dependent clause. It is a different word (with a different pronounciation); it is the demonstrative pronoun for 'pressing on the wound'.

I have not pursued all possibilities generated by your discovered rule, but I would suggest that it may be better, or at least more widely-understood, to consider them homographs (different words with the same spelling).

Regarding your Internet shopping sentence, the 'and, but' makes even your corrected version unintelligible, and there is one too many commas, because the 'that' initiates a restrictive clause. 'Offline' need not be set off by quotation marks. If I may correct it:

"Shopping on the Internet is convenient, but there are a few disadvantages that cause me to shop offline from time to time".