Prompt Proofing Blog Post: Grammar Tips - Proper Use of Quotation Marks and Punctuation

    VANCOUVER, BC, March 01, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Rules regarding the correct placement of quotation marks differ from country to country.

Regardless of the circumstance, periods and commas are always placed inside quotation marks when you follow US style. Canadian and British styles allow for exceptions to this rule. For example, when a person is talking, the punctuation at the end of the sentence is always inside the quotation marks.

I.e. "I really enjoyed the three movies I saw this past weekend," Laura said.

However, if using quotation marks for the title of a book or movie, for example, punctuation differs slightly. For example:

"I went to see "Silver Linings Playbook", "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty" this past weekend." - UK or Canadian rules.

"I went to see "Silver Linings Playbook," "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty" this past weekend." - US rules.

In the case of the first example, another good grammar rule to remember is that a comma is always used if you are about to attribute the quotation to someone. For example:

"I really enjoyed the three movies I saw this past weekend," Laura said.

"I really enjoyed the three movies I saw this past weekend." Laura said.

The first is correct; the second is not.

"I really enjoyed the three movies I saw this past weekend!" Laura said.

"Did you enjoy the three movies you saw this past weekend?" Julie said.

These are both also correct.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to getting used to how punctuation and quotation marks work together in a grammatically correct sentence.

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