Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Comma goes inside you when the context calls for a comma at the end of material enclosed in quotation marks, the comma should be. If a quotation has more than one paragraph, use quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph of the quotation. The blue book of grammar and punctuation leans towards usage rules in cms along with other authoritative texts and does not attempt to conform to the ap stylebook, which differs significantly in some aspects. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, an easytouse. The blue book of grammar and punctuation jane straus.
Revisiting use of quotation marks when creating defined. For example, if you were citing the poem one art by elizabeth bishop, it would appear as one art by elizabeth bishop. To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more. In american english, it is not uncommon for periods and commas to go inside quotation marks. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughterinlaw in theabove example, it is known as the oxford comma. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition english usage rules explained in plain english it doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation. Click on the images to view, download, or print them. In the example given in the question, the list is of a series of terms, or elements. 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. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes never has there been such a wellarranged, easily navigated guidebook as this. Quotation marks or inverted commas may be used singly or doubly. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition.
This is a punctuation lesson on using quotation marks. The british style more sensibly places unquoted commas and periods outside the quotation marks. If you follow british english rules, then bart is correct and you must use logic instead of just following a rule. Quotation marks grammar and style in british english. The blue book of grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Student record sheet on the student record sheet, the grammar and punctuation skills are keyed to the practice pages and the test items. Monthyear commas and elliptical expressions commas with quotation marks. Apr 10, 2014 quotation marks are also used to set off titles of stories, novels and poems. We use quotation marks with direct quotes, with titles of certain works, to imply alternate meanings, and to write words as words. Commas and periods that are part of the overall sentence go inside the quotation marks, even though they arent part of the. Joan heminway, professor at the university of tennessee college of law, sent the following inquiry to me and one of her colleagues in commenting on student work, i have noticed over the years a decrease in student use of quotation marks around defined terms, especially when defined in inside parentheses. Thus, in the following sentence, the comma is placed after taught. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage.
The actual words spoken by pat comprise direct speech and must, therefore, be marked off from the rest of the sentence by quotation marks. Also, for extended quotations, you may want to consider indentation to eliminate the opening and closing set of quotation marks see rule 8 of colons. Parentheses amplify, explain, or digress numbers in lists within text parentheses and other punctuation. Grammar rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation.
Feb 27, 2008 jane straus, foremost expert, answers your burning english grammar and punctuation questions. It doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation. Of all the punctuation marks in english, this one is perhaps the most abused and misused. Dec 26, 20 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. Quotation marks the blue book of grammar and punctuation. This is a case in which the accepted british and american english authorities appear to offer conflicting advice but see final paragraph. For information regarding quotations within quotations within quotations, please see our reply to ray of august 23, 2010, and our response to nadia of may 7, 2014. Quotation speech marks are used to show actual words spoken or written.
The mysteries of grammar and punctuation revealed new, expanded eighth edition at. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the. Last week, we examined the strict rule governing periods and commas with quotation marks. When writing a list in which the items are in quotations. Never place the period outside the quotation marks. Today, as promised, well talk about how to mix quotation marks with other punctuation. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide. Why do periods and commas go inside quotation marks in mla. This use of punctuation marks within the quotation marks is not considered appropriate in. Buy a discounted paperback of the blue book of grammar and punctuation online from australias leading online bookstore. Put one set of quotation marks around these titles to off set it properly.
Jane straus, foremost expert, answers your burning english grammar and punctuation questions. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition pages. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple series, apparently feeling its unnecessary. The blue book of grammar and punctuation will amuse you while demystifying the rules of grammar and punctuation. For example, the associated press ap stylebook is a guide specific for news media and journalists while the chicago manual of style cms is used by many book publishers and writers. Block quotations are not set off with quotation marks. Also to set of the prepositional phrase in my second sentence with commas like so.
Quotation marks with periods and commas grammar girl. Use single quotation marks any time that there is a quote within a quote. Use quotation marks for the titles of poems, short stories, and chapters in a book. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.
Use quotation marks where needed in these sentences. Single marks are generally preferred in british english, while double marks. 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. Lester 2014, the blue book of grammar and punctuation. They can be used to denote alleged or socalled, and they can be used for the names of ships, plays, etc. When the context calls for a comma at the end of material enclosed in quotation marks, the comma should be placed inside the quotation marks. When irony or special effect is intended, skillful preparation can take the place of using these quotes. This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of. This website and the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Youve got to be carefully taught, wrote oscar hammerstein ii.
Feb 10, 2014 the blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition english usage rules explained in plain english it doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation. Quotation marks definition in the cambridge english dictionary. A punctuation mark next to a quotation mark usually stays next to the word right before it. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple. Question marks with quotation marks grammar and punctuation. Punctuation definition, overview, and lists of examples. Quotation marks used around words to give special effect or to indicate irony are usually unnecessary. To see the entire contents of the blue book of grammar and punctuation online and to take online. This is the american english rule this newsletter, the blue book of grammar and punctuation, and. Put double quotations on the outside of a quote and single quotations.
This week, lets look at the more logical rules governing the use of question marks with quotation marks. If a question is in quotation marks, the question mark should be placed. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Periods with quotation marks grammar and punctuation. The quotation mark has only a couple simple rules, but many still manage to misuse it see the gallery of misused quotation marks for proof.
Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. The blue book of grammar and punctuation commas rule 1. Dec 19, 2007 i am inclined to put quotation marks before reached and after you. Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes. Quotation marks a complete guide to using other punctuation with quotation marks, including single. Quotation marks or speech marks are used mainly to indicate dialogue. With over 200,000 copies sold, this is one of the most highly trusted english language resources available. English rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation.
See here for a brief explanation of the british style. Apr 09, 20 last week, we examined the strict rule governing periods and commas with quotation marks. To see the entire contents of the blue book of grammar and. Here are some clues to help you decide whether the sentence element is essential. Punctuation english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. This article is about punctuation definition, overview, and lists of examples enjoy your reading. Commas quiz 2 the blue book of grammar and punctuation.
Jun 05, 2009 use single quotation marks any time that there is a quote within a quote. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a combination reference book and workbook. All it takes is the blue book of grammar and punctuation. In the american style, commas and periods go inside quotation marks regardless of logic, even if they are not in the original material. The mla handbook notes, by convention, commas and periods that directly follow quotations go inside the closing quotation marks 88. The most common question people ask about quotation marks is whether periods and commas go inside or outside. Commas quiz 2 from the blue book of grammar and punctuation. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. The quoted text is capitalized if youre quoting a complete sentence and not capitalized if youre quoting a fragment. May be used to practice, reinforce, or teach grammar and punctuation skills. Only put quotations around the title, not the authors name. Resort to apologetic quotation marks or quotation marks used to express irony only after such attempts have failed, keeping in mind that.
Unless the punctuation is part of the quoted material, it goes outside. Booktopia has the blue book of grammar and punctuation, an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes by jane straus. We should study the report on discrimination in the workplace, which was written by the personnel office. Put double quotations on the outside of a quote and single quotations on the inside of the quote. In the united states, the rule of thumb is that commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks, and colons and semicolons dashes as well go outside. Though not necessarily logical, the american rules for multiple punctuation with quotation marks are firmly established. Hyphen ranges of numbers prefix words prefix words exceptions to the rule hyphens and compound words hyphens and compound. This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of grammar, punctuation, and usage. Written without jargon for all of us who need simple answers to our everyday questions, this new, updated version has 50% more materialrules, exercises, tests, and answersand a new cover that is both sleek and durable. Rule the placement of question marks with quotations follows logic. Here is a collection of our printable worksheets for topic use commas and quotation marks of chapter conventions of standard english in section grammar a brief description of the worksheets is on each of the worksheet widgets.
There are lots of rules about comma usage, and often the factors that determine whether you should use one are quite subtle. But if you werent sure, heres a simple rule to help you figure it out. Punctuation english grammar today cambridge dictionary. If that word is inside the quotation marks, the punctuation mark should be inside too, like in this example. Quotation marks are also used to set off titles of stories, novels and poems. One of the most common question people ask me is whether periods and commas go inside or outside a closing quotation mark, and theres a reason everyone is confused. Now, keep in mind that this comma and period inside the quotation marks business is strictly american usage. Quotations within quotations grammar and punctuation.
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