Ending Punctuation and Quotation Marks

Using ending punctuation with quotation marks can be very confusing. It can also be easily explained. There are four possible ending marks you can use with punctuation: the period, the ellipsis, the question mark, and the exclamation point. The first two ALWAYS go inside quotation marks. The last two SOMETIMES go inside quotation marks. Let me expound a bit.

ALWAYS INSIDE

The period always goes inside the quotation marks. It looks better that way. The period is so small and insecure that feels awkward just hanging out on its own. See “Yes.” looks better than “No”. Inside the quotation marks, the period is safe and secure. Outside, he looks like he might just fall off. A word of advice: “Don’t separate the poor period from his letters.”

The ellipsis always goes inside the  quotation marks. Consider the purpose of the ellipsis: to indicate missing sections of a quote. If the ellipsis belongs in a quote, it should never be outside the quote. One thing to remember: “If the ellipsis is at the end of the quote, there should be four dots….”

SOMETIMES INSIDE

The question mark and the exclamation point go inside the quotation marks only when they are part of the quote. These two punctuation marks are the party crashers, the emotional marks, the fair-weather friends. When they can be applied to the quote, they’ll jump right in. When they apply to the overall sentence, they prefer to stand out. If left inside, no further ending punctuation is needed.

Examples: Who said, “Punctuation is easy”? I’d say, “Punctuation is frustration!”

When you get to know your ending punctuation, you might say “I never knew punctuation could be so moody.” But then again, maybe you did know.

If this article has helped you, or if you have other questions about this topic, please let me know. Thanks!