In regard to the use of commas and full points with ‘turned commas’, the general practice has hitherto been different. When either a comma or a full point is required at the end of a quotation, the almost universal custom at the present time is for the printer to include that comma or full point within the quotation marks at the end of an extract, whether it forms part of the original extract or not. Even in De Vinne’s examples, although he says distinctly, ‘The proper place of the closing marks of quotation should be determined by the quoted words only’, no instance can be found of the closing marks of quotation being placed to precede a comma or a full point. Some writers wish to exclude the comma or full point when it does not form part of the original extract, and to include it when it does form part of it; and this is doubtless correct.
There seems to be no reason for perpetuating a bad practice. So, unless the author wishes to have it otherwise, in all new works the compositor should place full points and commas according to the examples that follow:
We need not ‘follow a multitude to do evil’.
No one should ‘follow a multitude to do evil’, as the Scripture says.
Do not ‘follow a multitude to do evil’; on the contrary, do what is right.
When a number of isolated words or phrases are, for any reason, severally marked off by ‘turned commas’ (e.g. in order to show that they are not the expressions which the author would prefer to use, or that they are used in some technical sense), the closing quotation mark should precede the punctuation mark, thus:
‘Such odd-sounding designations of employment as “scribbling miller”, “devil feeder”, “pug boy”, “decomposing man”, occur in the census reports.’
in my voice, ‘so far as my vote is concerned’. parlous, ‘perilous’, ‘dangerous’, ‘hard to deal with’.
But when a quotation is complete in itself, either as a sentence or a paragraph, the final quotation mark is to be placed outside the point. For example:
‘If the writer of these pages shall chance to meet with any that shall only study to cavil and pick a quarrel with him, he is prepared beforehand to take no notice of it.’ (Works of Charles and M. Lamb, Oxford edition, i. 193.)