[Grammar] Position of commas and quotation marks

[Andreas Raschke]

In American English, the rule is that a comma has to be put before a closing quotation mark in any case, e.g.:
It could be seen again in the lyrical flow of "Sunrise," this show's opening piece.
In Wikipedia (Comma) it is said that in British English the comma should be put after the quotation mark:
It could be seen again in the lyrical flow of "Sunrise", this show's opening piece.
I could not find any confirmation for this assertion. The British version seems to be more logical, but is it correct?

 

[5jj]

The British version is correct - for British English.

As a Brit, I feel that the British way is more logical, but I don't expect Americans to agree with me. They are presumably happy with the way they do things, or they would change.

 

[TheParser]

In American English, the rule is that a comma has to be put before a closing quotation mark in any case, e.g.:
It could be seen again in the lyrical flow of "Sunrise," this show's opening piece.
In Wikipedia (Comma) it is said that in British English the comma should be put after the quotation mark:
It could be seen again in the lyrical flow of "Sunrise", this show's opening piece.
I could not find any confirmation for this assertion. The British version seems to be more logical, but is it correct?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Andreas Raschke,


(1) As Teacher Fivejedjon said, there is no "correct" or

"incorrect" answer. The British and the Americans each have

their own system of punctuation. And, of course, every

other language has its "rules" for punctuation. For example,

I do not know German. When you have quotation marks, where

do you put commas, periods, etc.?

(2) I recently read a sentence in a very good American magazine that

went something like this:

After he said, "Do you love me?," he left the room.

I agree the comma inside the quotation marks is --

honestly speaking -- quite ugly. I think (repeat: think) that our

British friends would write:

After he said, "Do you love me?", he left the room.

I think that some Americans feel that love me?," is too ugly and

love me?", is too strange, so they just forget

the comma:

After he said, "Do you love me?" he left.

(3) I most respectfully suggest that you read some American and

British newspapers online. You will soon see the difference in punctuation.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****