If you quote a question, put the question mark inside the quotation marks. This rule makes good sense; it distinguishes a quoted question from a quotation embedded in a question. Time to look at one more part of Betsy’s encounter with the falling piano. The piano mover answered Betsy, bu...
If the terminal punctuation mark is a question mark or an exclamation mark, and it appears outside the context of the quotation, it should be located outside the quotation mark as well. (In the examples below, which I enclose in double quotation marks because they are themselves excerpts of...
How do you punctuate ellipses?Question:How do you punctuate ellipses?What Are Ellipses?:The ellipsis (plural is ellipses) is a punctuation mark used to denote a pause or omission in a sentence. The ellipses can be used to show that some material is left out of a longer quotation, or elli...
A comma is used to introduce a quote: She asked,“Where is the post office?” If a quote is not at the end of a sentence anddoesn’t end in a question markorexclamation point, we typically follow the last word with a comma: “I was here yesterday,” the customer said. Make Your ...
In verse, provide line numbers instead of page numbers. Include punctuation marks after the parenthetical citation. Place question marks and exclamation points within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quote, otherwise follow rules for punctuation marks. ...
Indirect question:She asked me what my name was. You need to be careful because sometimes it is difficult to tell if a sentence is asking a direct or indirect question, especially if the wording of a question has been rearranged. For example, ...
When to use etc. When to avoid using etc. How to punctuate etc. Examples of how to use etc. in a sentence Use etc. to keep your writing concise How to use etc. correctly FAQs What does et cetera mean? Et cetera is a Latin phrase that means “and the rest.” In English, it’...
I cannot be bothered to read Cormac McCarthy's advice on punctuation because my opinion from reading his mawkish and dreary tomeThe Road is that he doesn't actually know how to punctuate. Like you say, emails and social media have brought the exclamation mark back into fashion. I never...
Notice how the em dashes separate a phrase with a lot of other punctuation. Acommaalone wouldn't work, because it wouldn't be strong enough against the other pieces of punctuation. Em dash to the rescue! 2. To add an aside in place of or in addition to parentheses. ...
A four-dot ellipsis is actually an ellipsis with a period at the end of it. It's important to remember that you still should punctuate properly even when you use an ellipsis. When using ellipses in conjunction with other punctuation, whether they be commas, semicolons, question marks, or ...