Punctuation Inside or Outside Quotation Marks?
Punctuation Inside or Outside Quotations?
In the US, commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks. In the UK, the tendency is to place them outside, unless they appear in the original quotation, in which case they go inside.This table summarizes how the main punctuation marks are used with quotations:
Punctuation | Rule | Example |
---|---|---|
Commas and Periods (Full Stops) | inside in the US, outside in the UK | "I know," she said. () "I know", she said. () "I know it's true," she said. () (The comma shows that the quotation had its own end punctuation, which was a period.) |
Semicolons and Colons | outside | There are two meanings for "381": an activist group and I love you. |
Exclamation Marks and Question Marks | inside or outside according to logic | She asked, "Do you love me?" Did she say, "I love you"? |
The US and UK Rules for Commas and Periods (Full Stops) with Quotations
Should the highlighted comma and period (full stop) be inside or outside the quotation marks? Well, it depends what writing convention you're following. This example is written in the US writing convention.- "Bindle," to today's youth, means "a small pack of drug powder." () (In the US, the comma and the period are placed inside the quotation.)
- "Bindle", to today's youth, means "a small pack of drug powder". () (In the UK, the comma and the period are placed outside the quotation.)
- "Conquest", said Thomas Jefferson, "is not in our principles." () (The period inside the final quotation mark is correct because it appears in the original. The comma after "Conquest" is correctly placed outside because it does not appear in the original.)
- "I like apples," said John. () (The yellow comma is correct because the quotation contained its own end punctuation (a period). Clearly, we can't use a period here because that would confuse the reader. So, a comma has replaced the period and has been correctly placed inside the quotation to recognize that the quotation had its own end punctuation.)
A More Detailed Explanation of Punctuation Inside or Outside Quotations
Punctuation | UK Convention | US Convention |
---|---|---|
. and , | Place . and , outside (unless it appears in the original).
|
Place . and , inside.
|
! and ? | Place ! and ? inside or outside according to logic.
The second example is not a question, but it ends in a question mark. For neatness, it is acceptable to use just one end mark. Under US convention, you should only use one end mark. Under the UK convention, if you're a real logic freak, you can use two end marks (if you must). |
|
: and ; | Place : and ; outside (unless it appears in the original).
|
|
?, ! and . | Don't double up with end marks. But, if you must, you can.
(Two question marks? The sentence is a question, and the quotation is a question.) |
Don't double up with end marks.
|
More on ?, ! and . | Don't end a quotation with . if it doesn't end the whole sentence.
|
In Summary
This infographic below summarizes the rules for placing punctuation inside or outside a quotation:Learning Resources
play:
match the pairs (parts of speech) hundreds more games and testslists:
parts-of-speech listsmore actions:
download the test below as .doc
send the test below as homework
Test Time!
This test is printable and sendable