frogboxer
Junior Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2013
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- English
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- United States
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- United States
Had a debate with an 'English' teacher about the use of quotations marks - British style. I'm told that all of my examples below are incorrect, and I'm just not seeing it. Are ALL of my examples below correct?
(1) My understanding is that if the 'exact' words of another are being quoted verbatim as s/he said it, that's the only time the terminal punctuation is enclosed INSIDE the ending quote marks. Is the following punctuated correctly?
•Joe said, 'No good deed goes unpunished.'
(2) But, if you're quoting what somebody else said, then the terminal punctuation falls OUTSIDE the ending quotation marks. Correct below?
•Joe said, 'I heard Mike say, "The financial projections will be presented at tomorrow's meeting".'
The ending to this quote would end with ".' (as exampled at the end of the last sentence).
(3) If the exact words on a sign, in an email, etc. are being quoted, then the terminal punctuation goes INSIDE the ending quote marks. Correct below?
•The sign on the property read 'Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'
•The email said, 'There will be a staff meeting on November 3rd at the Century House. Please be punctual.'
(4) With proverbs and generic sentences, do I place the full stops INSIDE the ending quote marks in the following sentences?
•Grammatical errors abound in the sentence 'Their the most inconsiderate people I has ever met.'
•I love the old proverb 'A bad tree does not yield good apples.'
Thank you
(1) My understanding is that if the 'exact' words of another are being quoted verbatim as s/he said it, that's the only time the terminal punctuation is enclosed INSIDE the ending quote marks. Is the following punctuated correctly?
•Joe said, 'No good deed goes unpunished.'
(2) But, if you're quoting what somebody else said, then the terminal punctuation falls OUTSIDE the ending quotation marks. Correct below?
•Joe said, 'I heard Mike say, "The financial projections will be presented at tomorrow's meeting".'
The ending to this quote would end with ".' (as exampled at the end of the last sentence).
(3) If the exact words on a sign, in an email, etc. are being quoted, then the terminal punctuation goes INSIDE the ending quote marks. Correct below?
•The sign on the property read 'Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'
•The email said, 'There will be a staff meeting on November 3rd at the Century House. Please be punctual.'
(4) With proverbs and generic sentences, do I place the full stops INSIDE the ending quote marks in the following sentences?
•Grammatical errors abound in the sentence 'Their the most inconsiderate people I has ever met.'
•I love the old proverb 'A bad tree does not yield good apples.'
Thank you
