For a short workweek, let’s clear up an area of punctuation confusion we can cover in a short post––but there’s a catch. This punctuation rule can be counterintuitive. But wait. If you can sweep away the counterintuitive part, you’ll never have to think about this issue again. So fasten your seatbelt for a fast, bumpy ride.
Yes, always
Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks. That’s it.
(Well, that’s not all there is to it if you regularly correspond with folks in the UK or some parts of Canada because the rule is different there, but here in the US the rule is absolute.) So let’s examine the various situations.
“I’m looking for a used car,” Sammy said. Easy. The comma after a direct quotation goes inside because that looks right and conforms with the rule we remember from elementary school.
Sammy said, “I’m looking for a used car.” Same deal with the period in a quotation. Easy.
If you didn’t understand why Sally called your idea “old-fashioned,” you should have asked her. Hmm. This rule, for quotation marks being used for a different reason, is harder to remember. Shouldn’t we finish putting quotation marks around “old-fashioned” and then drop in the comma? No. Don’t get confused by logic. It’s a rule! Put the comma inside, and you’re right every time.
I don’t get why Sally called your idea “old-fashioned.” Again, we have to fight off logic and make the correct move: period then quotation mark.
For next time
So are the rules governing the order of quotation marks with other punctuation, such as exclamation points and semicolons, just as simple? Sorry. In some of those situations we do have to think for a few seconds, but the rules are easy because they’re logical. We’ll cover those in my next post.
For now, if you never had the rule about periods and commas locked in, enjoy your new understanding––and be thankful for all the time you’re going to save by applying this absolute rule: Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks.
In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.