In American usage, where should punctuation that belongs to the quoted material be placed?

In American usage, where should punctuation that belongs to the quoted material be placed?

• A. Inside the quotes.
• B. Outside the quotes.
• C. Never use punctuation with quotes.
• D. Punctuation position is arbitrary.

Answer: (A)

In American usage, punctuation that belongs to the quoted material goes inside the quotation marks. This keeps the punctuation that part of the quote as part of the original spoken or written segment. For example, He said, "Meet me at noon." The period is part of the quote, so it sits inside the closing quotation marks. She asked, "What time is it?" and the question mark stays inside as well. If the punctuation belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than the quote, it goes outside the closing quotation marks. For instance, She called it "a clever plan," but it failed. Here the comma after the closing quote belongs to the sentence outside the quote.

In American usage, punctuation that belongs to the quoted material goes inside the quotation marks. This keeps the punctuation that part of the quote as part of the original spoken or written segment. For example, He said, "Meet me at noon." The period is part of the quote, so it sits inside the closing quotation marks. She asked, "What time is it?" and the question mark stays inside as well. If the punctuation belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than the quote, it goes outside the closing quotation marks. For instance, She called it "a clever plan," but it failed. Here the comma after the closing quote belongs to the sentence outside the quote.