Note that in the example about the Latin word amare, the word could have been also set in italic type, as we did in this sentense. Its also worth noting that using italic or underlining — not quotations marks — are the better choice to emphasize a word.
For more punctuation pointers, check out our archives. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password? Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Recover your password. The Elements of Typographic Style.
Strunk, William, Jr. The Elements of Style. Yagoda, Ben. Skip to content Why do periods and commas go inside quotation marks in MLA style?
In American usage, commas and periods at the end of quotes always go inside the quotation marks. In British usage, they can go either inside or outside. And you should note that commas and periods go before closing quotation marks, regardless of whether they are single or double quotes.
For example:. In technical writing or even in daily life, you may find situations where someone needs to input a specific word or phrase into a computer. If you include the punctuation in the quoted section, this may cause the user to input the punctuation as well as the actual word or phrase. In this case, put the punctuation outside the quotes, as in these examples:.
In American English, the general rule for question marks and exclamation marks or points is this: If the quoted material ends with a question mark or an exclamation mark, the punctuation should be inside the quotation marks. However, if the question mark or exclamation mark is not directly part of the quote, then the punctuation should go outside the quotation marks.
As you can see here, if the quote itself is an exclamation or question, the punctuation mark is contained within the quotation marks:. If the quoted words are embedded within a sentence that is an exclamation or question, then the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks, like this:. There are certain punctuation marks that always go outside quotation marks. See here for a brief explanation of the British style. Unless they are part of the original quotation, all marks other than commas or periods are placed outside the quotation marks.
For more on the proper use of multiple punctuation at the end of a sentence, see here. Longer quotations should be set off from the main text, and are referred to as block quotations.
Because the quoted material is set off from the main text, it is not necessary to use quotation marks. Style varies, but at a minimum a block quotation should have a bigger left-hand margin than the main text. In contrast to the main text, a block quotation might also have a bigger right-hand margin, be in a smaller or otherwise different font, or have reduced line spacing. How do you determine if your quotation is short allowing it to be incorporated into the main text or long requiring a block quotation?
0コメント