It can be tricky to learn how to punctuate quotation marks correctly. Check out our guide on when to use punctuation inside or outside quotation marks.
Similarly, a period (also called a full stop) appears inside quotation marks only if it is meant to end a sentence within quotes. If it ends the surrounding sentence, place it outside quotes. ... Place a question mark or exclamation point inside quotation marks if the quoted text is a question or an exclamation, but outside if the larger ...
Other punctuation marks should be placed inside the quotation marks only if they are part of the material quoted. The OED example really doesn't tell us anything about the OED's view on this. The example is of a quoted complete sentence - Steve replied, 'No problem.' - so that by either standard the full stop/period belongs within the quotation ...
If the quoted words end with a full stop, then the full stop goes inside the quotation marks. If the quoted words do not end with a full stop, then the full stop goes outside the quotation marks: He said: "I love you." She has read "War and Peace". Note that in US English, the full stop usually goes inside the quotation marks in all cases:
If the quotation ends with a full stop, then the full stop goes inside the quotation marks. He said, ‘I love you.’ (I love you is the complete quotation, so the full stop is part of the quotation.) If the quotation doesn’t end with a full stop, then the full stop goes outside the quotation marks. He described the woman as ‘stunning’.
The main confusion here is where to put the final full stop – inside our outside quotation marks. In American English, the full stops are generally inside quotation marks. For example: “I am going to study.” “Mary was wearing a beautiful dress.” In British English, the final full stops are always outside quotation marks. For example:
Quotation marks with full stops, commas and other punctuation. How do quotations work with commas and other punctuation? A comma is placed within the quotation marks to introduce a direct quote. If the description of the quote’s speaker is placed after the quotation, a comma is always placed within the quotation marks.
Full sentence: He told me, “You’re not listening.” Then he left. ... American English places commas and periods inside quotation marks even if they weren’t part of the original quotation. ... should the full stop still go inside the quotation mark here or outside? Thanks! Reply. Proofed. 4th April 2022 at 11:26. Hi, Gina. The same rules ...
If the quotation ends a sentence or is a sentence in its own right, place the final full stop before the final quotation mark. ... The surrounding text determines the font (roman, italic, or bold) of the quotation marks. If the content inside the quotation marks is in italics, but the sentence is in roman, use roman for the quotation marks. ...
A full stop (period) indicates the end of a sentence so it must be placed outside the quotation mark, otherwise it is suggesting the end of the sentence comes BEFORE the final quotation mark. The only way a full stop (period) can be used before the quotation mark is when the entire sentence is in quotes, which rarely happens The American way ...
Example of British style: ‘Punctuation, and spaces between words,’ according to style guides, ‘is a development of “silent reading”, a practice that began in the 10th century.’ [note ― period quotation] Note also that the American style places commas and periods (full stops) inside the quotation marks, even if they are not in the original material.
The major distinction between the use of a full stop in British as opposed to American English involves its use after a final quotation mark. As a general rule, in British English, the full stop will be placed after the final quotation mark and not inside of that quotation mark if the phrase or sentence is not particularly long.
Quotation Marks: In UK English, the full stop is placed outside quotation marks if it is not part of the quoted material, whereas in US English, it is placed inside. Example: "She said no". (UK) vs. "She said no." (US). How Not to Use a Full Stop. Avoid using multiple full stops for emphasis, except in informal or creative writing.
When the whole sentence is in speech marks, the full stop should go on the inside (even with the ‘Harry said’ at the beginning – and notice the cap on ‘It’): Harry said ‘It was beautifully written.’ Or ‘It was beautifully written,’ said Harry. If you’re in the US How to use quote marks. It’s the reverse of the UK rules ...
In the first example, there is no carrier sentence so the full stop belongs within the quotation marks. In the second example, the full stop applies to the whole sentence—not just the part contained within quotation marks—and falls outside the quotation marks. If you have any questions about the correct use of quotation marks—or any other ...
