Question Mark In Quotes Followed By Period

Keep the period for the abbreviation inside the closing quotation mark.

Question mark in quotes followed by period. Some writers will use both a question mark and exclamation point for an exclamatory question but only the exclamation point is truly necessary. However if the quote is a question a question mark needs to be used to show the reader that the sentence is an interrogative sentence. Commas or periods always precede closing quotation marks of quoted material. The full stop commonwealth english period north american english or full point.

Place the question mark outside of the closing quotation marks if it is not part of the quotation. Is a punctuation mark. At the end of a sentence the exclamation point is a mark of terminal punctuation. To sum up the rules on question marks.

Rule the placement of question marks with quotations follows logic. If the entire sentence is a question put the question mark outside the quotation marks. Some of you detail oriented okay picky people may want to know what to do when the quotation and the sentence are both questions. As such it should not be followed by a period or question mark.

2 he said yes and she said no. Because of rule 2a capitalize the word that follows a question mark. If a question is in quotation marks the question mark should be placed inside the quotation marks. It is used for several purposes most often to mark the end of a declarative sentence as opposed to a question or exclamation.

In such a circumstance it s okay to drop the period from the quotation. Comma after question mark. Add a question mark after the closing quotation mark. Didn t he tell us to be there no later than 7 30 a m.

Was it your mother who said the lord prefers common looking people. There are absolutely no exceptions to these three rules in american english. If the quoted words are a question put the question mark inside the quotation marks. Correct have you read do androids dream of electric sheep.

Last week we examined the strict rule governing periods and commas with quotation marks. A question mark replaces a period at the end of a sentence. In english we typically use a comma to separate a quotation from an attributive tag a tag that tells the reader who is speaking or acting e g he thought or said he even if the quote would usually end in a period. This week let s look at the more logical rules governing the use of question marks with quotation marks.

1 there are no ifs ands or buts about it. When the question mark in the title comes at the end of a sentence that would itself require a question mark or period the additional question mark or period is omitted. This sentence terminal use alone defines the strictest sense of full stop.