1. John Carlo

    John Carlo Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2009
    Messages:
    109
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Long Island, New York

    Punctuating in and out of quotations - please help!

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by John Carlo, Sep 22, 2009.

    Hey all,
    I'm brand new to the site by the way (just joined 5 minutes ago). I have a question that's been bugging me for awhile. I can't seem to get a solid answer in my search. As far as punctuation in and out of quotation marks, do you only not punctuate within the quotation marks when it's a fragmented sentence. For example:

    "Go to the other side of the house." Jack said.

    or would it be:

    "Go to the other side of the house", Jack said.

    or would it be:

    "Go to the other side of the house.", Jack said.

    Only the middle one looks right to me. I guess my confusion comes when I have a complete sentence in quotation marks, and the entire quote is in a larger sentence in the text.
     
  2. Syne

    Syne Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2009
    Messages:
    22
    Likes Received:
    1
    This is the most proper way, I believe:

    "Go to the other side of the house," Jack said.
    Jack said, "Go to the other side of the house."
    Jack said, "Go to the other side of the house," and Shirley did as he was bid.

    In other words, a quote appearing at the beginning of a sentence is concluded with a comma at its end.
    A quote appearing at the end of a sentence is concluded with a period, and a comma precedes it.
    A quote appearing in the middle of a sentence is preceded by a comma and is concluded with a comma.

    However, in many cases, if the quote is small enough, it is possible to omit one or all of the commas preceding or concluding the quote. Note that the period at the end of a sentence always appears within the quote. Also note that you shouldn't touch any of the punctuation marks that appear in the quote, as it was said. You shouldn't shift commas around, for example.

    It's difficult for me to believe you actually searched for the answer, though. It appears as the first search result on Google.
     
  3. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 19, 2007
    Messages:
    36,161
    Likes Received:
    2,827
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    None of the above. The correct answer is:
    This may help: He said, she said - Mechanics of Dialogue

    A dialogue tag is a phrase that attaches to the quoted fragment to indicates who said it. That is the only thing you should attach to the quoted part. If Shirley responds to what Jack said, it belongs in a separate sentence.

    Beats, or actions that the speaker takes before or after a spoken phrase, also belong in a separate sentence:

    "This is how it's gonna be." Jack leaned toward Talbert. "I ask the questions, and you answer. Capisce?"
     
  4. garmar69

    garmar69 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2008
    Messages:
    1,550
    Likes Received:
    26
    This one is correct.
    The other two sentences are always incorrect. The punctuation has to be within the quote tags in dialogue. The only other time I'm aware of that you would put punctuation outside of dialogue would be if you used a colon or semicolon and sometimes when using a dash. I've never encountered the need, though.

    Edit: oops...you guys are quick on the draw. :D
     
  5. John Carlo

    John Carlo Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2009
    Messages:
    109
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Long Island, New York
    Thank you all so much. This was a tremendous help. Cleared up a lot for me.
     
  6. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2006
    Messages:
    19,150
    Likes Received:
    1,034
    Location:
    Coquille, Oregon
    john's second example could be correct in british usage, where the period and comma can go outside the " "... in american usage, they go inside...
     
  7. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 19, 2007
    Messages:
    36,161
    Likes Received:
    2,827
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Ugh. I haven't seen that variation. However, in the US, where John appears to be from, it's just wrong.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice