Please tell me if my syntax is correct.

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kristine May

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Philippines
Are these correct:

"Your themes," said Ms. Buchanan, "will be due in class on September 7; late papers will lose one full grade."

What should I do when the computer says, "Sorry, try again?"
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Are these correct:

"Your themes," said Ms. Buchanan, "will be due in class on September 7; late papers will lose one full grade."

What should I do when the computer says, "Sorry, try again?"
What should I do when the computer says, "Sorry, try again"?
There might be some disagreement about this correction, but I think that putting the question mark inside the quotation marks is only correct if the quote is a question.

There was a thread a few months ago about a sentence which contains two questions, such as, "What should I do when the computer says, "Do you want to restart the computer?"
The consensus was that only one '?' was warranted, but I forget where it was supposed to come.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
What should I do when the computer says, "Sorry, try again"?

To me, the question mark must surely come outside the quotation marks.

Rover
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
To me, the question mark must surely come outside the quotation marks.

Rover
Yes, but can you explain why this must surely be the case when, if we had a full stop playing the same role in a sentence, it comes inside the quotations marks?
The computer told me, "Sorry, try again."

I used to put the full stop outside the quotation marks on the grounds that the full stop indicated the end of the sentence, just as the question mark in the original sentence does.
 

freezeframe

Key Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
Purdue OWL: Quotation Marks
Place a question mark or exclamation point within closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the quotation itself. Place the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence.
Phillip asked, "Do you need this book?"
Does Dr. Lim always say to her students, "You must work harder"?

I'll trust that they know what they're talking about :-D
That website is recommended by my university's writing centers.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top