Sometimes it just feels like you have too much punctuation to place in a sentence.
You know, when you have a regular punctuation point and you need to place quote marks around something. I bet you wonder if the punctuation mark goes inside or outside of the quote mark. I know I’ve considered this more than once.
The answer—it depends on the punctuation mark. Nice, huh?
Periods and commas always go inside the quote marks, according to Grammar Girl (who you should totally read or listen to as she is a fabulous resource for all things nerdy, by the way).
Semicolons, colons, asterisks, and dashes always go outside the quote marks, Grammar Girl said.
If you have a question mark or an exclamation point, you have to consider the sentence.
If the entire sentence is a question or exclamation, the punctuation goes outside of the quotation marks. If only the part inside the quote is a question or exclamation, you put the punctuation inside the quote marks.
I have nerdy chills just knowing this. I hope you go forward never misusing quotes and punctuation again!
You can read Grammar Girl’s full post on quotation marks and punctuation here.
NathanHatcher says
I have actually always wondered about this, and I have had a few instances during editing recently that frustrated me. The punctuation outside of the quotation mark just looks so odd to me. This a good thing to know, though!
profkrg says
@NathanHatcher It looks odd to me too. I thought it was always supposed to go inside the quote marks. This is great information to have. I guess we learn something new each day!
fmwillingham says
I’ve never thought about this. My punctuation typically consists of commas and periods, and I was aware those marks are punctuated inside the quotation marks. This post broadened my view of quotation mark usage.
WarrenWhitlock says
thanks I needed this
profkrg says
WarrenWhitlock I’m glad you found it helpful, Warren. Thanks for stopping by!