Editing Quotation marks in English (section)

== Order of punctuation<span class="anchor" id="Logical quotation"></span><span class="anchor" id="typesetters' quotation"></span>==
With regard to quotation marks adjacent to periods and commas, there are two styles of punctuation in widespread use. These two styles are most commonly referred to as "American" and "British", or sometimes "typesetters' quotation" and "logical quotation". Both systems have the same rules regarding question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons. However, they differ in the treatment of periods and commas.<ref name="SSF" /><ref name="CMoS_6.9">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch06/psec009.html |title=The Chicago Manual of Style Online |edition=17th |date=2017 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |access-date=21 December 2018 |at=Sections 6.9-6.11 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In all major forms of English, question marks, exclamation marks, semicolons, and any other punctuation (with the possible exceptions of periods and commas, as explained in the sections below) are placed inside or outside the closing quotation mark depending on whether they are part of the quoted material.<ref name="APA"/>
{{block indent|1=<poem>
Did he say, "Good morning, Dave"?
No, he said, "Where are you, Dave?"
There are three major definitions of the word "gender": vernacular, sociological, and linguistic.
Type "C:" at the DOS prompt to switch from a floppy disk to a hard drive.
</poem>}}

A convention is the use of [[Bracket#Square brackets|square brackets]] to indicate content between the quotation marks that has been modified from, or was not present in, the original material.

=== British style<span class="anchor" id="British practice"></span>===
The prevailing style in the United Kingdom{{spaced ndash}} called ''British style'',<ref name=SSF>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PoFJ-OhE63UC&pg=PA180 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors and Publishers |publisher=[[Council of Biology Editors]] / Cambridge University Press |date=2002 |quote=In the British style (OUP 1983), all signs of punctuation used with words and quotation marks must be placed {{em|according to the sense}}. |access-date=21 December 2018 |isbn=9780521471541}}</ref><ref name="APA">{{cite web |url=https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/08/punctuating-around-quotation-marks.html |last=Lee |first=Chelsea |title=Punctuating Around Quotation Marks |work=APA Style Blog |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |date=11 August 2011 |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref> ''logical quotation'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.abdn.ac.uk/riiss/content-images/JISS_Style_Guide_revised_FV.pdf |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies  |publisher=Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, [[University of Aberdeen]] |date=2008 |quote=Punctuation marks are placed inside the quotation marks only if the sense of the punctuation is part of the quotation; this system is referred to as logical quotation. |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref> and ''logical punctuation''<ref name="Yagoda"/>{{spaced ndash}} is to include within quotation marks only those punctuation marks that appeared in the ''original'' quoted material and in which the punctuation mark fits with the sense of the quotation, but otherwise to place punctuation outside the closing quotation marks.<ref name="Yagoda">{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/05/logical-punctuation-should-we-start-placing-commas-outside-quotation-marks.html |title=The Rise of "Logical Punctuation" |first=Ben |last=Yagoda |author-link=Ben Yagoda |date=12 May 2011 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref> Fowler's ''[[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'' provides an early example of the rule: "All signs of punctuation used with words in quotation marks must be placed ''according to the sense''."<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Fowler's Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/newfowlersmodern00fowl |url-access=registration |edition=3rd |date=1996 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |editor-last=Burchfield |editor-first=R. W. |page=[https://archive.org/details/newfowlersmodern00fowl/page/646 646]|isbn=978-0-19-869126-6 }} Emphasis in original.</ref>

When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works and sentence fragments, this style places periods and commas outside the quotation marks:
{{block indent|1=<poem>
"Carefree", in general, means "free from care or anxiety".
The title of the song was "Gloria", which many already knew.
She said she felt "free from care and anxiety".
</poem>}}

When dealing with direct speech, according to the British style guide ''Butcher's Copy-editing'', if a quotation is broken by words of the main sentence, and then resumed, the punctuation before the break should follow the closing quote unless it forms part of the quotation. An exception may be made when writing fiction, where the first comma may be placed before the first closing quote.<ref name="Butcher">{{cite book |last1=Butcher |first1=Judith |last2=Drake |first2=Caroline |last3=Leach |first3=Maureen |date=2006 |title=Butcher's Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders |edition=4th |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-84713-1 |page=273}}</ref> In non-fiction, some British publishers may permit placing punctuation that is not part of the person's speech inside the quotation marks but prefer that it be placed outside.<ref name="Butcher" /> Periods and commas that {{em|are}} part of the person's speech are permitted inside the quotation marks regardless of whether the material is fiction.<ref name="Butcher" />
{{block indent|1=<poem>"Today," said Cinderella, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (fiction)
"Today", said the Prime Minister, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (preferred in non-fiction)
"Today I feel happy," said the woman, "carefree, and well." (regardless)
</poem>}}

''[[Hart's Rules]]'' and the ''[[Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors]]'' call the British style "new" quoting. It is also similar to the use of quotation marks in many other languages (including Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan, Dutch and German). A few US professional societies whose professions frequently employ various non-word characters, such as chemistry and computer programming, use the British form in their style guides (see ''ACS Style Guide'').

According to the ''[[Jargon File]]'' from 1983, American [[Hacker (programmer subculture)|hacker]]s (members of a subculture of enthusiastic programmers) switched to what they later discovered to be the British quotation system because placing a period inside a quotation mark can change the meaning of data strings that are meant to be typed character-for-character.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/writing-style.html |title=The Jargon File, Chapter 5. Hacker Writing Style |work=CATB.org |access-date=7 November 2010}}</ref>

Some American style guides specific to certain specialties also prefer the British style.<ref name="CMoS_6.9" /> For example, the journal ''[[Language (journal)|Language]]'' of the [[Linguistic Society of America]] requires that the closing quotation mark precede the period or comma unless that period or comma is "a necessary part of the quoted matter".<ref name="LSA-LSS" /> The websites [[Wikipedia]] and [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] use logical punctuation.<ref name="Yagoda"/>

=== American style<span class="anchor" id="American practice"></span>===
In the United States, the prevailing style is called ''American style'',<ref name="APA" /> whereby commas and periods are almost always placed inside closing quotation marks.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Associated Press Stylebook |chapter=Punctuation |page=337}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Q&A |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Punctuation/faq0021.html |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Strunk |first1=William Jr. |last2=White |first2=E. B. |title=The Elements of Style |publisher=[[Pearson Education]] |edition=4th |page=[https://archive.org/details/elementsofs00stru/page/36 36] |date=2000 |isbn=9780205313426 |url=https://archive.org/details/elementsofs00stru/page/36 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=J. A. (Sandy) |last1=McFarlane |first2=Warren |last2=Clements |title=The Globe and Mail Style Book |edition=9th |date=2003 |isbn=978-0771056857 |page=237|publisher=McClelland & Stewart }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brinck |first1=Tom |last2=Gergle |first2=Darren |last3=Wood |first3=Scott W. |title=Usability for the Web |publisher=[[Morgan Kaufmann]] |date=2002 |page=277 |isbn=978-1-55860-658-6 |doi=10.1016/B978-1-55860-658-6.X5000-7}}</ref> This is done because it results in closer spacing and what is judged to be a cleaner appearance.<ref>Frederick Hamilton (1920: 31) ''A Primer of Information about the Marks of Punctuation and Their Use Both Grammatically and Typographically.''</ref> The American style is used by most newspapers, publishing houses, and style guides in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Canada as well.

When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works, and sentence fragments, standard American style places periods and commas inside the quotation marks:
{{block indent|1=<poem>
"Carefree," in general, means "free from care or anxiety."
The title of the song was "Gloria," which many already knew.
She said she felt "free from care and anxiety."
</poem>}}

This style also places periods and commas inside the quotation marks when dealing with direct speech, regardless of whether the work is fiction or non-fiction:
{{block indent|1=<poem>
"Today," said Cinderella, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (fiction)
"Today," said the Prime Minister, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (non-fiction)
</poem>}}

Nevertheless, many American style guides explicitly permit periods and commas outside the quotation marks when the presence of the punctuation mark inside the quotation marks leads to ambiguity, such as when describing keyboard input, as in the following example:
{{block indent|In the programming language [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]], the statement "<code>end.</code>", including the period, signifies the end of a program.}}

The American style is recommended by the Modern Language Association's ''[[MLA Style Manual]]'', the American Psychological Association's ''[[APA style|APA Publication Manual]]'', the University of Chicago's ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', the American Institute of Physics's ''AIP Style Manual'', the American Medical Association's ''AMA Manual of Style'', the American Political Science Association's ''APSA Style Manual'', the [[Associated Press]]' ''The AP Guide to Punctuation'', and the [[Public Works and Government Services Canada|Canadian Public Works']] ''The Canadian Style''.<ref>Other style guides and reference volumes include the following: ''U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual'' (2008, p. 217), US Department of Education's ''IES Style Guide'' (2005, p. 43), ''The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing'' (1997, p. 148), ''International Committee of Medical Journal Editors'', ''International Reading Association Style Guide'', ''American Dialect Society'', Association of Legal Writing Directors' ''ALWD Citation Manual'', ''The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference'' by K. D. Sullivan (2006, p. 52), ''Webster's New World Punctuation'' by Geraldine Woods (2005, p. 68), ''The New Oxford Guide to Writing'' by Thomas S. Kane (1994, pp. 278, 305, 306), ''Merriam-Webster's Manual for Writers and Editors'' by Merriam-Webster (1998, p. 27), ''Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers'' by Lynn Troyka, et al. (1993, p. 517), ''Science and Technical Writing'' by Philip Rubens (2001, p. 208), ''Health Professionals Style Manual'' by Shirley Fondiller and Barbara Nerone (2006, p. 72), ''The Gregg Reference Manual'' by William A. Sabin (2000, p. 247), ''The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation'' by [[Jane Straus]](2007, p. 61), ''The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage'' by Allan M. Siegal, ''The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge'' (2004, p. 788), ''The Copyeditor's Handbook'' by Amy Einsohn (2000, p. 111), ''The Grammar Bible'' by Michael Strumpf, Auriel Douglas (2004, p. 446), ''Elements of Style'' by William Strunk and Elwyn B. White (1979, p. 36), ''Little English Handbook'' by Edward P. J. Corbett (1997, p. 135), ''Commonsense Grammar and Style'' by Phillip S. Sparks (2004, p. 18), ''Handbook of Technical Writing'' by Gerald Alred et al. (2006, pp. 83, 373), ''MIT Guide To Science and Engineering Communication'' by J. Paradis and M. L. Zimmerman (2002, p. 314), ''Guide to Writing Empirical Papers'' by G. David Garson (2002, p. 178), ''Modern English'' by A. L. Lazarus, A. MacLeish, and H. W. Smith (1971, p. 71), ''The Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers'' (8th ed.) by John Ruszkiewicz et al., ''Comma Sense'' by Richard Lederer, John Shore (2007, p. 138), ''Write right!'' by Jan Venolia (2001, p. 82), ''Scholastic Journalism'' by Earl English and Clarence Hach (1962. p. 75), ''Grammar in Plain English'' by Harriet Diamond and Phyllis Dutwin (2005, p. 199), ''Crimes Against the English Language'' by Jill Meryl Levy (2005, p. 21), ''The Analytical Writer'' by Adrienne Robins (1997, p. 524), ''Writing with a Purpose'' by James McNab McCrimmon (1973, p. 415), ''Writing and Reporting News'' by Carole Rich (2000, p. 60), ''The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well'' by Tom Goldstein (2003, p. 163), ''Woodroof's Quotations, Commas And Other Things English'' by D. K. Woodroof (2005, pp. 10–12), ''Journalism Language and Expression'' by Sundara Rajan (2005, p. 76), ''The Business Writer's Handbook'' by Gerald Alred et al. (2006, p. 451), ''The Business Style Handbook'' by Helen Cunningham (2002, p. 213), ''Essentials of English'' by Vincent Hopper (2000, p. 127).</ref> This style is also used in some British news and fiction.<ref>{{cite web |last1=March |first1=David |title='The British style'? 'The American way?' They are not so different {{!}} Mind your language |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2011/may/19/mind-your-language-punctuation-quotations |website=the Guardian |access-date=19 November 2021 |language=en |date=19 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Butcher" />

=== Ending the sentence ===

In both major styles, regardless of placement, only one end mark (?, !, or .) can end a sentence. Only the period, however, ''may not'' end a quoted sentence when it does not also end the enclosing sentence, except for literal text:<ref name="CMoS_6.9" /><ref>{{cite book |title=New Hart's Rules |date=2005 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-861041-0 |editor-first=R. M. |editor-last=Ritter |url=https://archive.org/details/newhartsrules00rmri }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's Guide to Punctuation and Style |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-87779-921-4 |date=2001 |author=Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersg00merr_0 }}</ref>
{{block indent|1=<poem>
"Hello, world," she said. (both styles)
She said, "Hello, world." (both styles)
"Hello, world!" she exclaimed. (both styles)
"Is anybody out there?" she asked into the void. (both styles)
</poem>}}

With narration of direct speech, both styles retain punctuation inside the quotation marks, with a full stop changing into a comma if followed by attributive matter, also known as a speech tag or annunciatory clause. Americans tend to apply quotations when signifying doubt of veracity (sarcastically or seriously), to imply another meaning to a word or to imply a cynical take on a paraphrased quotation, without punctuation at all.