[Grammar] Usage of period

Status
Not open for further replies.

sky3120

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
1) Do I have to say, "I love you."?

2) He said, "I love you.".

Do not we need a question mark in the first sentence? And then do not we need a period in the second sentence at the end of the sentence?

Or the first one should be Do I have to say, "I love you?" and the second should be
He said, "I love you."

Thank you so much for your time and help as usual.

Cf. Asked already, but still unsolved, so I need your help.
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Unsolved, perhaps, because nobody here wants to play those games! ;-)

Personally, I, find ".'." ugly (some would say anal! ;-) Whether or not the final full-stop should be inside the quotation marks is a question of national preference. It seems to me that 'Do I have to say, "I love you?"' is just wrong, as the question is not part of the quoted speech; but some national standards may require it.

b
 

sky3120

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
Thank you so much for being willing to take a part in the game:) So do you personally this one, Do I have to say, "I love you"? is better or natural, right? In other words, without a period and put the question mark at the end of the sentence?
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
So do you personally like this one: Do I have to say, "I love you"? is better or natural, right? That is how I would write it.

Rover
 

sky3120

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
Thank you so much and could you check if the usage of punctuation is correct?

1) I said, "I love you."

2) Did I say, "I love you"?

3) Did I say, "Do you love me?"?

Thank you for your time and help. Take good care.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I would write them as follows:


1) I said "I love you".

2) Did I say "I love you"?

3) Did I say "Do you love me"?

(There are acceptable variations.)

Rover
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top