Style Guide of Common Errors in English Grammar for Writers

punctuation and quotation marks

"Punctuation goes INSIDE quotation marks," Dave reminded. "Not like this", said someone who did not know how to use punctuation. This is also "incorrect". Are there exceptions to this "rule"? Yes, the previous sentence is one, but such cases are rare.

A buddy clued me into this teaching tool: Quotation marks were like chicken wings. Everything had to be inside the chicken wings. Now I'm hungry. While I break out the breading and salt rub, I can appreciate the poultry metaphor as a grammatical generalization (grammetaphor, or in this case, chickaphor). There is, however, one situation in which punctuation goes outside the chicken wing.

Have you ever heard the saying, "The unexamined life is not worth living"?
At his trial, Socrates proclaimed, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
After the trial, Socrates quipped, "I drank what?"

All three sentences are correct. The question mark goes outside of the quotes in the first because otherwise it would alter the meaning of the phrase in quotes. The placement is crucial if we look at these two sentences.

After the trial, Socrates quipped, "I drank what?"
After the trial, Socrates quipped, "I drank what"?

In the first, Socrates is asking a question as to the contents of his Hemlock Gatorade. In the second, the speaker is inquiring as to what it is that Socrates quipped.

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