PUNCTUATION WITH QUOTATION MARKS
553. Marks of punctuation are (except the interrogation point and the exclamation point which are explained later) placed inside the quotation marks. For example:
- A wise man said, "Know thyself."
Notice that the period is placed after the word thyself and is followed by the quotation marks.
- "We can easily rout the enemy," declared the speaker.
Notice that the comma is placed after enemy, and before the quotation marks.
554. The Interrogation Point and the Exclamation Point are placed within the quotation marks if they refer only to the words quoted, but if they belong to the entire sentence they should be placed outside the quotation marks. For example:
- He said, "Will you come now?"
- Did he say, "Will you come now"?
- He said, "What a beautiful night!"
- How wonderfully inspiring is Walt Whitman's poem, "The Song of the Open Road"!
555. Sometimes parenthetical or explanatory words are inserted within a quotation. These words should be set off by commas, and both parts of the quotation enclosed in quotation marks. For example:
- "I am aware," he said, "that you do not agree with me."
- "But why," the speaker was asked, "should you make such a statement?"
- "I do not believe," he replied, "that you have understood me."