Finally, you can use a period to introduce a quotation. Use a comma after verbs of communication introducing a quotation and between split quotations. Lim always say to her students, you must work harder. The mla handbook notes, by convention, commas and periods that directly follow quotations go inside the closing quotation marks 88. Either a cite the source in parentheses after the quotations final punctuation or b cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page number in parentheses after the quotations final punctuation. In general, mla style does not use hyphens after non, co, pre, and other prefixes and off, on, and other prepositions when forming a compound word. Does a period go before or after a closing quotation mark of a title. Times, mla, apa and every other style in the country, both the comma and the period should come before the closing quotation mark, not after. As you might guess from our name, apa style uses american style punctuation see p. After a complete sentence, use a colon and begin the quotation with a capital letter. In american style, the period always comes before the closing quotation marks. Last week, we examined the strict rule governing periods and commas with quotation marks.
Where does the period go after a quotation in apa style. Question marks exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they. Exclamation points and question marks, however, follow different rules. Dec 26, 20 another britishamerican difference is how we use single quotation marks and double quotation marks. Oct 29, 2015 according to the chicago manual of style and, i believe, the associated press i work primarily with book publishers who tend to use the former as their base style guide in addition to their house rules in u. However, if you want to quote more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse from a source, you should format the excerpt as a block quotation, rather than as a. Thus, in the following sentence, the comma is placed after taught. March 27, 2017 should i put punctuation after quotation marks. Mar 17, 2002 now, keep in mind that this comma and period inside the quotation marks business is strictly american usage. Should the quotation mark be placed before or after a.
Study the following examples to help you avoid the most common mistakes. Periods and quotation marks the writing cooperative. Most of the standard rules for quotations still apply, with the following exceptions. Mla format intext citations and quotations graduate. Punctuating quotations with exclamation points and semicolons. The placement of a comma or period after a quotation the. Get an answer for when quoting a book, do the page numbers go before or after the period. Quotation marks punctuation rules the blue book of.
When quoting a book, do the page numbers go before or. Jul 07, 2014 grammatically speaking, punctuating the quotation mark can be a little tricky, so ill show you a few examples, quotation marks often take two forms, well either lead with the quotation and give. One thing to note is that a block quotation, unlike a regular quotation, is not surrounded by quotation marks. When setting up type, requiring the period to precede the quotation marks allowed better kerning. In all the examples above, note how the period or comma punctuation always comes before the final quotation mark. Now, there is no argument in putting a period inside quotation marks when you are dealing with dialogue. Should it go inside or outside the quotation marks. Nov 22, 2014 after the quotation marks because if put before the quotation mark, that makes the quote seem like if it continues after what you wrote even if the quote has ended. Youve got to be carefully taught, wrote oscar hammerstein ii.
Unfortunately, the rules governing whether to place punctuation inside or outside speech marks are not straightforward. Place the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence. Despite its simple role, people tend to get confused about the position of other punctuation in relation to the quotation marks. Even when writing a paper in which you consult only a single sourcesuch as a single poem, story, novel, book, or articleyou should keep careful notes to ensure that you are always able to. The final period or comma goes inside the quotation marks, even if it is not a part of the quoted material, unless the quotation is followed by a citation. Should the quotation mark be placed before or after a period.
Hemingway 1 does the period go inside the quotes as above. If a citation in parentheses follows the quotation, the period follows the citation. If the entire sentence is an exclamation, but the quoted words. For short quotations no more than four typed lines in the text, enclose the quotation with double quotation marks, and provide the author and specific page citation. Quotation marks are primarily used to indicate material that is being reproduced word for word, as well as some other important uses. Essentials punctuation of quotations hamilton college. Place a question mark or exclamation point within closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the quotation itself. This rule applies even if only one quoted word ends the sentence. Time to look at one more part of betsys encounter with. When quoting a book, do the page numbers go before or after. How to use a comma before quotation marks the classroom. Note that the punctuation for the sentence goes after the parenthesis.
It goes before the quotation mark when there is no parenthetical citation of a direct quote. The period goes at the end of the whole sentence, including the page number, otherwise you would be giving the page number its own sentence. Oct 24, 2019 if your quote is longer than forty words, set it off in a block text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch, and do not add quotation marks. There was no day more important than this one for him. It has been observed by others that technical writing has migrated to punctuation outside the quotes in order to stay consistant with places were we cannot be ambiguous with the quoted. They are inclined to place commas and periods logically rather than conventionally, depending on whether the punctuation belongs to the quotation or to the sentence that contains the quotation, just as we do with question marks and exclamation points.
Do quotation marks go before or after the period in a. But what if you are using the quotation marks for the title of a book or in quoting someone. Where does the period go in an mla intext citation. The most common question people ask about quotation marks is whether periods and commas go inside or outside, and the answer depends on where your audience lives because in american english we always put periods and commas inside quotation marks, but in british english periods and commas can go inside or outside kind of like the american rules for question marks and exclamation points. Rule the placement of question marks with quotations follows logic. The period at the end of a block quote appears before the. This page covers whether periods full stops, commas and other punctuation marks should be placed before or after a speech mark. Quotation marks are used for components, such as chapter titles in a book, individual episodes of a tv series, songs from a broadway show or a music album, titles of articles or essays in print or online, and shorter works such as short stories and poems. In a block quotation, no quotation marks are used and the period comes before the parenthetical citation. Provide the author and specific page citation in the case of verse, provide line numbers in the text, and include a complete reference on the works cited page. At the end of the quote put the period after the last word of the sentence followed by the parentheses. When to use commas before quotations quick and dirty.
The placement of a comma or period after a quotation by eric wirth when a comma or period is needed after a quotation, publishers in the united states typically put the punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark. When a quote is three lines or longer, it should be offset in a block. Punctuation inside or outside quotation speech marks. If the quote stands alone then the period should be before the end quote. Never place the period outside the quotation marks. The placement of a comma or period after a quotation by eric wirth. However, if the quote appears as an independent clause within another sentence which is usually the case, the quote should be seperated from the rest of the sentance with a comma and the period should appear after the end quote.
Our calendar is set one month before classes begin. This is the american english rule this newsletter, the blue book of grammar and punctuation, and. Further to the other answers, if a sentence is a question, and that sentence includes a quoted question, put one question mark inside the quotation marks. Does the question mark come before or after the quotation. When doing research, documenting your observations as you work is critical. A block quotation begins on its own line, is not enclosed in quotation marks, andif applicable has an intext citation after the final punctuation. She reported that the boss was, in her words, miffed. American and british quotation marks kalsangdorjee on october 05, 2007 2. Grammatically speaking, punctuating the quotation mark can be a little tricky, so ill show you a few examples, quotation marks often take two forms, well either lead with the quotation and give. The windows misted over from the heat and the smoke inside. Question marksexclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they.
Though not necessarily logical, the american rules for multiple punctuation with quotation marks are firmly established. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented. You do this when introducing a block quotationthat is, a long quotation thats indented from the rest of the text. According to the chicago manual of style and, i believe, the associated press i work primarily with book publishers who tend to use the former as their base style guide in addition to their house rules in u. No one other than professional editors seems to know that. Place other punctuation inside quotation marks when that punctuation is part of what is being quoted, such as a quoted question. Mla block quotations guide to writing simple book production. The second is correct, the period goes after the citation. Youre like one of those birds from the summer isles. An exclamation point within the quotation is followed by quotation marks, then by a parenthetical citation.
Place a single quote before and after a quotation inside of another quotation. If a question is in quotation marks, the question mark should be placed. With only one exception, the period always comes inside closing quotation marks. When using quotation marks without using parenthetical documentation, the normal rule for mla guidelines is to place the comma inside the final punctuation mark. A typical quotation is enclosed in double quotation marks and is part of a sentence within a paragraph of your paper.
Punctuating quotations with exclamation points and. In english, the rules for using quotation marks with exclamation points follow the same general rules as question marks. If you use one paragraph or quote from a book, you should cite the entire book in the works cited as well as the page number. They are inclined to place commas and periods logically rather than conventionally, depending on whether the punctuation belongs to the quotation or to the sentence that contains the quotation, just as we do with. A quick guide to the punctuation of quotes with mla citation. The period goes after the complete citation because the citation is considered part of the sentence me 34. It is customary in american publishing to put the title of an entire composition in italics. The instructor said all courses are scheduled in advance. If the quoted words are a question, put the question mark inside the quotation marks. Block quotations are doublespaced, like the rest of your paper, and indented half an inch from the left margin. If you quote a question, put the question mark inside the quotation marks.
If you follow british english rules, then bart is correct and you must use. Place a comma at the end of the first quote and period after the last quote when a quote is broken into two parts within a sentence. Do not add a period after the closing parenthesis in either case. For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a freestanding block of text and omit quotation marks. When the quoted material is woven into a sentence, do not use any punctuation except the quotation marks. It is important to realize also that when you are using mla or some other form of documentation, this punctuation rule may change. If you are using the apa style, make sure you always follow rule 2. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation.
The rules for using a comma before quotation marks can seem arbitrary, but you only need to commit a couple to memory. If youre quoting a written source, you should still put the quote between quotation marks unless you plan to paraphrase it. In the british style, the placement of the period depends upon whether the period is logically part of the quoted material. The british use single quotation marks far more often than americans. How to punctuate quotations with question marks dummies. If your quote is longer than forty words, set it off in a block text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch, and do not add quotation marks. Question marks with quotation marks grammar and punctuation. The only exception, according to the chicago manual of style, involves the use of single. Publication manual, as do several other major style guides such as ap, chicago, and mla. In mla publications, en dashes are also used with institutional names that take the following form. If the entire sentence is a question, put the question mark outside the quotation marks. In america, we use double quotation marks in nearly all cases, and we use single quotation marks if we need to place a quotation within another quotation. When a comma or period is needed after a quotation, publishers in the united states typically put the punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark.
Some of you detailoriented okay, picky people may want to know what to do when the quotation and the sentence are both questions. Sep 01, 2018 the period should go inside the quotation marks. Quotation marks are used to set off speech or quoted sentences and words. He hadbeen planning for weeks now, and wasnt going to let anyone stop himnow. If you are writing in american english, other punctuation should go inside the quotation. The title of a short story should be in quotation marks. Another britishamerican difference is how we use single quotation marks and double quotation marks. But we must never speak of the times before the great rebirth. And although you arent likely to use quotation marks with semicolons, in case you want to impress your grammar teacher, the rules are included here. Now, keep in mind that this comma and period inside the quotation marks business is strictly american usage. This week, lets look at the more logical rules governing the use of question marks with quotation marks.
The reason for this convention is to improve the appearance of the text. How to use quotation marks grammar lessons youtube. Periods with quotation marks grammar and punctuation. The american style was developed based on typography. So, unless you are quoting material and using a parenthetical citation, commas always go. Why do periods and commas go inside quotation marks in mla.