GalacticCactus Forum

Author Topic: Punctuation and Quotation Marks  (Read 2885 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Noemon

  • Arbiter of Cool
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,059
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« on: May 29, 2007, 03:51:36 PM »
Just a second ago on sake I wrote the following:

Quote
When I read today's strip my first thought was "Becky's going to be happy!"

I've never really been sure how to punctuate something like that.

...going to be happy!"
...going to be happy!".
...going to be happy"!

all three seem wrong.  The last one is technically correct, but isn't what I'm trying to convey; the exclamation mark is part of the thought that I'm quoting, rather than something native to the sentence itself.  Should it just be left out?  That seems like the most elegant solution, but the meaning conveyed by the exclamation mark is lost.
I wish more people were able to be like me. 
-Porter

I'm about perfect.
-pooka

I hope you have a wonderful adventure in Taiwan. Not a swashbuckling adventure, just a prawn flavored pringles adventure.

-pooka

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2007, 03:55:40 PM »
Actually, I think that the third one is always incorrect, and the first one is always correct, regardless of whether the punctuation is part of what is being quoted or not.

 
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline Tante Shvester

  • Souper Member
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 9,868
    • View Profile
    • About Tante
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2007, 04:26:58 PM »
The first option is correct by the book.  I have decided that this grammatical rule is wrong and illogical, and I make it my practice to put the punctualtion outside of the quotes, if logic dictates that this is where it belongs.  So, I'd go with option 3, in a practice of civil disobedience.
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Online Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2007, 04:48:04 PM »
*buzz*

You're all wrong!

Either the first or the third can be correct depending on what you mean. Is the quote exclamatory, or is your statement exclamatory? If the former, then go with the first option. If the latter, then the third. The second is never correct—double terminal punctuation is not allowed, with the one occasional exception of an exclamation mark and question mark together.

According to American style, the only punctuation marks that always go inside quotation marks, regardless of whether it's part of the quoted material, are commas and periods.
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2007, 06:51:40 PM »
Aw, I knew that!

Stupid work, keeping me from seeing this thread earlier in the day!

*checks time stamps*

I take that back. I wasn't at work; I was picking up kids from school. Clearly, Noem's timing stinks. :P
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Tante Shvester

  • Souper Member
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 9,868
    • View Profile
    • About Tante
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2007, 06:25:57 AM »
Sorry you missed a chance to be annoyingly pedantic, or whatever.  I'm sure you'll have another opportunity.

I just crack myself the heck up!
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Offline pooka

  • hover bear
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,877
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2007, 07:41:48 AM »
I do what my boss tells me to.  

I made it into a manual, and here's what I wrote:

"Punctuation goes before close quotes and superscripted ordinal particles (1,st 2,nd 3,rd 4.th)

It's a lot less horrifying in Word.  I'm not really sure what he would do if there were a superscripted ordinal particle at the end of a quotation in real life.  I think he usually puts punctuation outside of parentheses.  

He speaks often of being a night editor at the college paper, so it's not like he's completely making things up.  
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2007, 07:51:13 AM »
Quote
I just crack myself the heck up!
Me, not so much.
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Online Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2007, 08:08:59 AM »
You put punctuation before superscripted ordinal particles?!

*dies*
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2007, 08:14:55 AM »
Is that something English has?
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Online Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2007, 08:27:09 AM »
It's not a grammatical feature or anything like that. You know how when you type "2nd" in Word, it automatically superscripts the "nd"? That's the kind of thing we're talking about. Pooka gave some examples, though obviously not as a superscript because the UBB codes here don't support it.
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline Primal Curve

  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2,182
    • View Profile
    • http://www.primalcurve.net
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2007, 08:59:35 AM »
Quote
You put punctuation before superscripted ordinal particles?!

*dies*
Better re-route the plasma conduits!
Oh, and PC? Upcracking over here, just the heck for you. - Tante

Online Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2007, 09:11:44 AM »
Divert all power to the main reactor! Invert the warp field polarity!
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline Primal Curve

  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2,182
    • View Profile
    • http://www.primalcurve.net
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2007, 09:26:22 AM »
Piggy-back a tachyon pulse on the main deflector dish! Talk a lot about how it's not designed to do that!
Oh, and PC? Upcracking over here, just the heck for you. - Tante

Offline pooka

  • hover bear
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,877
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2007, 11:30:24 AM »
And even if it works, we'd be totally violating the Prime Directive.

Also, I applaud Jon Boy's courageous use of double punctuation there.  Very bold.  And now I'm typing in incomplete sentences.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2007, 11:31:58 AM by pooka »
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Online Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #15 on: May 30, 2007, 11:33:38 AM »
*prints pooka an honorary degree from BYU*
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline Primal Curve

  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2,182
    • View Profile
    • http://www.primalcurve.net
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #16 on: May 30, 2007, 01:25:33 PM »
*misspells BYU... the acronym*
Oh, and PC? Upcracking over here, just the heck for you. - Tante

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #17 on: May 30, 2007, 06:02:56 PM »
Quote
It's not a grammatical feature or anything like that. You know how when you type "2nd" in Word, it automatically superscripts the "nd"? That's the kind of thing we're talking about. Pooka gave some examples, though obviously not as a superscript because the UBB codes here don't support it.
Oh, those were examples?!

When I googled "ordinal particles," it wanted to tell me about languages that incorporate numbers as part of a longer word. Hence my confusion.
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Online Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #18 on: May 30, 2007, 07:23:50 PM »
I don't know if "particle" is the appropriate word, but I realized that those were examples and understood what she meant.
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline pooka

  • hover bear
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,877
    • View Profile
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
« Reply #19 on: June 01, 2007, 10:38:56 AM »
I just had to add:
Quote
(“FMLA”).

We'll see if he changes it in review.

I struggled with what to call th, nd, th.  I picked particle as something that is used in other languages like Chinese and Hebrew that have morphologic significance but defy categorization.

Oh, I wrote something hilarious last night.  At least, I thought it was hilarious at the time.  It was pretty late at night.  But it reminded me of "Eject the warp core!"
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon