Periods and Commas

[greasyfizeek]

This is a grammar bulletin for everyone. PERIODS AND COMMAS GO INSIDE QUOTATION MARKS.

Granted on the internet a little leeway is allowed I suppose (including spelling), this even occurs in major newspapers and magazines. I can't tell you how much this annoys me. I know I'm a nerd, but whatever. For the love of god, please put your periods and commas inside quotation marks.

greasy

[bradm]

And don't even get me started on the use (and misuse) of apostrophes (or, as some would write, apostrophe's ).

Aloha,

Brad

[PalacePrincess]

This is a grammar bulletin for everyone. PERIODS AND GO INSIDE QUOTATION MARKS.

quick edit, there, grammar-san.

[Deeps]

Example of non-use and proper-use pls.

[greasyfizeek]

nice detective work there palace princess....

Here's an example of the wrong way to use punctuation.

I went to the store today and ran into "Trey", but it wasn't him, more like an impostor "formerly known as Trey".

Correct answer:

I went to the store today and ran into "Trey," but it wasn't him, more like an impostor "formerly known as Trey."

[SevenSeasJim]

And people wonder why society is "going for a shit".

[CyberHippie]

What if you are ending a sentance with a quote (that doesn't have punctuation).

ie:

Greazy says that "on the internet a little leeway is allowed".

It seems kinda wrong to me to include the punctuation into a quote that didn't have that punctuation in the first place, it's mis-quoting. I know I may be wrong here, but at least in my world that's how it work's...

(note: apostrophe was added in "work's" for Brad)

[Kaidy Mae]

There are exceptions to every rule. Find one here.

In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic...In the United Kingdom, Canada, and islands under the influence of British education, punctuation around quotation marks is more apt to follow logic.

In American style, then, you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design."

But in England you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design".

[CyberHippie]

A ha!!

[greasyfizeek]

It's true in the UK that grammar follows different rules, on a multitude of levels. Canada is sort of an amalgam of several different styles.

cyberhippie, this does not mean that the canadian grammar gods allow you to break the rules simple out of preference.

"Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules? Mark it zero!"

-Walter Sobcak

[CyberHippie]

In life you can rebel against many things. I've chosen grammar. Not following the rules of grammar is may way of stopping the man from keeping me down.

[bradm]

I think that if a sentence ends in a quotation of what someone said, with that quotation being a sentence itself, the punctuation of the quoted sentence is used to punctuate the quoting sentence, even if the punctuation of the quotation doesn't match the punctuation of the sentence.

For example:

I asked my brother, "How cold is it today?"

Here, the question mark at the end of the sentence is, in a sense, incorrect, as the sentence itself not a question; it's a statement of something that was done. If a computer programmer were writing rules of grammer, that sentence would be:

I asked my brother, "How cold is it today?".

When ending a sentence (or a comma-delimited clause) in a term that needs quotation marks, however, I think the rules allow the punctation to be inside or outside the quotation marks.

Aloha,

Brad

[AD]

cyberhippie, this does not mean that the canadian grammar gods allow you to break the rules simple out of preference.

Ahem. Wouldn't 'cyberhippie' and 'canadian' be capitalised in a proper sentence?

ad

[bradm]

And shouldn't "simple" be "simply"? (This would be an example of a quoted term with the punctuation outside the quotation marks.)

Aloha,

Brad

[CyberHippie]

"on the internet a little leeway is allowed I suppose (including spelling)".

[phorbesie]

nice detective work there palace princess....

Here's an example of the wrong way to use punctuation.

I went to the store today and ran into "Trey", but it wasn't him, more like an impostor "formerly known as Trey".

Correct answer:

I went to the store today and ran into "Trey," but it wasn't him, more like an impostor "formerly known as Trey."

hmmm...i guess i use incorrect punctuation all the time then the first sentence looks so much more right to me.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Personally, I think that as long as you get the point across that's all that "matters".

[greasyfizeek]

good link davey boy. the debate rages on. as for me, we live in north america, NOT britain, and if you read fiction, non-fiction, newspapers and magazines on our continent, commas/periods go inside the quotation marks. there are different rules for exclamation marks, question marks, colons and semi-colons, and those rules apply to sentence structure and meaning.

the point is there ARE rules in written language, and it's not just about getting the point across. that's what verbal language is for.

in case you were wondering, i am a writer, editor, publishing student at ryerson, and supreme dorkwad.

greasy

[AD]

Sentences and proper nouns are capitalised, no?

ad

[Patchoulia]

Yes, we do live in North America, not Britain--however, we have always used the Queen's english, representing itself in our spelling and grammar. Therefore, punctuation outside of quotation marks is appropriate and correct.

The debate does not "rage on"--what debate? There are rules and the only way we flout those rules is if we adhere to the American useage.

Also, I'm unsure as to how you can purport to be a strict grammarian when you seem to wholly eschew the use of capital letters.

[guigsy]

this is the most bullshit thread ever. i said it. who the fuck cares? talk how ya want, let others deal with it.

[greasyfizeek]

from one adam to another...yes, you're right. but on the internet, particularly in a forum setting, a little leeway i think.

emails, the net, msn, have all changed the way we write. i think not capitalizing is more so related to typing speed, rather than grammatical rules.

greasy

"Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a sh!t about the rules? Mark it zero!"

-Walter Sobcak

[CyberHippie]

All the electronic texting these days is definitely changing the way we communicate. I was reading an article a while back, talking about how we are totally altering the spelling of words and all the crazy short forms we are coming up with. I wonder how long that will take to spill over into other written mediums. Like essay writing for example. How long before you can write "my friend sez c u l8r" in an essay?

[AD]

Well, I'm Alan....

And if your whole point was to get people to adhere to your pet-peeve grammar rules, don't you think you should abide by other rules too?

I really don't care, just if you're gonna be grammar police...

AD

[Kaidy Mae]

How long before you can write "my friend sez c u l8r" in an essay?

*shudder* I hope never! I'm still rallying against "nite".