Punctuation inside Quotes
AnandVishy
quote would look something like
Word word word "word word word."
But what about in other cases, where the sentence and the quote inside
it have differerent punctuation? What are the rules governing these
situations?
Michael Hamm
in part:
I don't know, but I can tell you what I (American) do.
I asked, "Where did he go?".
I said, "Nowhere!".
I wondered "Why?", and proceeded after him.
Did you also ask "Whither?"?
No, I asked, "Where'd he come from?"!
The answer "Nowhere!" astounded me.
It "astounded you"?
The word 'scat', which is fairly new, means 'shoo'.
N.B: Many write this last sentence thusly (but I don't):
The word 'scat,' which is fairly new, means 'shoo.'
Otoh, I think everyone would write as I do:
Brought to you by the letter 'K'!
Didn't Melville write, "Call me Ishmael."?
Or:
Didn't Melville write, "Call me Ishmael"?
-- the former only if I want to emphasize that it's a sentence, the latter
if I don't particularly wish to.
"She is the fairies' midwife," and works nights.
It "comes in shape no bigger than an agate-stone", and weighs much
less.
The former, because the comma is in the original, the latter because it's
not. But I'd write:
"She is the fairies' midwife" and stablegroom.
-- because a comma is not appropriate
That reminds me. If I quote a whole sentence midsentence, as I just did,
I'll often set it off, as I just did. If, for whatever reason, I'm not
setting it off, I'd probably write that last sentence as:
But I'd write, "'She is the fairies' midwife' and stablegroom",
because a comma is not appropriate.
Or:
But I'd write: "'She is the fairies' midwife' and stablegroom." --
because a comma is not appropriate.
At least I *think* that that's what I'd do. See my actual writings for
what I *do* do. :-)
Best,
Michael Hamm
BA scl Math, PBK, NYU
msh...@math.wustl.edu
http://www.math.wustl.edu/~msh210/
Mason Barge
(Michael Hamm) wrote:
>On 20 Aug 2003 09:37:51 -0700, AnandVishy <chok...@hotmail.com> wrote,
>in part:
>> I understand that a declarative sentence containing a declarative
>> quote would look something like
>>
>> Word word word "word word word."
>>
>> But what about in other cases, where the sentence and the quote inside
>> it have differerent punctuation? What are the rules governing these
>> situations?
>
>I don't know,
Well, we agree about something :)
The convention is that question marks and exclamation points go in the
logical spot: Outside the quotation marks if the sentence is a
question or exclamation, inside the quotation marks only if the
sentence is not a question (or exclamation) but is quoting one. Use
just one sentence-ending punctuation mark per sentence, except for
just cause shown.
I didn't like it when they all screamed "bombs away!"
I'm going to scream if I hear him whisper "kiss me"!
Malcolm X had the courage to ask the younger generation of American
blacks, "What did we do, who preceded you?"
Who said, "Fame means when your computer modem is broken, the repair
guy comes out to your house a little faster"?
If there are two different punctuation marks needed, you have to
choose one:
Wasn't it Malcolm X who declared, "Why, that's the most hypocritical
government since the world began!"
You can put a period inside or outside. The American standard style
says that inside is always correct, so a lot of people do that and
don't worry about it. But some sentences are still better wirth the
period outside the quotes.
Example: I don't know what he means by "alternative gender".
Mason Barge
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln
Michael West
"AnandVishy" <chok...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8e03e77.03082...@posting.google.com...
I've chosen an easy way of giving you a comprehensive
answer -- I've nicked it from somewhere else. Note that
this describes American usage; there may be differences
in British practice.
BEGIN QUOTE:
Occasionally — very occasionally, we hope — we come across a sentence that seems to
demand one kind of punctuation mark within quotation marks and another kind of
punctuation mark outside the quotation marks. A kind of pecking order of punctuation
marks takes over: other marks are stronger than a period and an exclamation mark is
usually stronger than a question mark. If a statement ends in a quoted question, allow
the question mark within the quotation marks suffice to end the sentence.
Malcolm X had the courage to ask the younger generation of American blacks, "What did
we do, who preceded you?"
On the other hand, if a question ends with a quoted statement that is not a question,
the question mark will go outside the closing quotation mark.
Who said, "Fame means when your computer modem is broken, the repair guy comes out to
your house a little faster"?
If a question ends with a quotation containing an exclamation mark, the exclamation
mark will supersede the question and suffice to end the sentence.
Wasn't it Malcolm X who declared, "Why, that's the most hypocritical government since
the world began!"
A single question mark will suffice to end a quoted question within a question:
"Didn't he ask, 'What did we do, who preceded you?'" queried Johnson.
Authority for this section: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage
HarperCollins: New York. 1994. 277. Cited with permission, examples our own.
END QUOTE
Copied from:
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm
Michael West
"Michael Hamm" <mh...@artsci.wustl.edu> wrote in message
news:bi0aja$r2e$1...@newsreader.wustl.edu...
> On 20 Aug 2003 09:37:51 -0700, AnandVishy <chok...@hotmail.com> wrote,
> in part:
> > I understand that a declarative sentence containing a declarative
> > quote would look something like
> >
> > Word word word "word word word."
> >
> > But what about in other cases, where the sentence and the quote inside
> > it have differerent punctuation? What are the rules governing these
> > situations?
>
> I don't know, but I can tell you what I (American) do.
For the sake of the poster, I feel compelled to point out
that the practices you describe here are non-standard, and
are not followed in professional editing and publishing.
That's no reason for you to change, though. Just be aware
that, were you to submit your work to a publisher who
followed industry standards, your sentences would be
changed.
--
Michael West
Melbourne, Australia
(Expat yank)
GrapeApe
>>> quote would look something like
>>>
>>> Word word word "word word word."
Are we watching MTV or BET? Can we flip it over to CSPAN or something?