I have two friends who write fanfic. And I’ve seen this with both of them. One of them is excused because she’s dyslexic and has problems writing. The other one is Australian.
Is this correct anywhere?
In case it doesn’t automatically jump out at you, I’m talking about the punctuation around the end quote.
It’s supposed to be
Right?
(both of my friends are otherwise good writers and so I don’t want to point it out, cuz it’s so minor, relatively speaking, but it BUGS ME.)
The correct method is:
“Put the comma,” inside the quote.
Wait - is the problem the placement of the mark or the choice of the mark? 'Cause if it’s a question, I want a question mark somewhere.
“This isn’t right?” she asked.
“It should be like this,” she said.
Depending on context, that construction should be possible.
She drew in her breath–she was finally about to ask. But he spoke first: “This isn’t right.” She asked. And she asked again, to no avail. “This isn’t right,” he repeated.
Okay, I’m actually pulling examples from my friend in Australia. With any luck she doesn’t read this board.
And I’m guessing this is correct in Australia.
(that’s part of what annoys me: she does it one way one time and the other way the next and grargh!)
Those are both punctuated correctly. The first one reads as:
“I’m sorry,” she said. She made a gibbering noise. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
I would re-write the second one. You cannot sob words. It is physically impossible.
Well, it all depends on how you read it. Is “she gibbered” supposed to go with “I’m sorry” or is it a separate action? As a separate action, the sentences sound too staccato to me, so my inclination is to think the gibbering describes the manner in which the speaker said “I’m sorry.” (Compare the difference beween, say, " 'I’m coming, dear!" he ejaculated" and " ‘I’m coming, dear!’ He ejaculated.")
That said, without being able to go into the mind of the author, we don’t know which is meant.
…if you are American. But the OP is about an Australian. There is a difference between American punctuation and British(-influenced) punctuation. As explained here, the American style is to put the punctuation inside the quotes, whereas in Britain it depends on context.
It’s what I would do, yes.
I suspect that in this case the difference is to avoid the three inverted commas in a row.
It depends on context in American English, too. Question marks and exclamation points go outside the quotes, unless they are part of the quote.
Yes, when I read the examples from Silver Tyger Girl my first thought was that the periods were incorrectly *inside *the speech marks… unless her Australian friend is being very careful about writing for a US audience.
I notice in your link that the author says the only exception for US writers is a single letter or number, but another common exception is in IT which tends towards British / logical use so that there is no ambiguity about what gets typed, for example: Type “su root -c reboot”.
It seems that a comma inside the quote show that the idea isn’t finished. “I know.” She paused.
“I know,” she said. The comma indicates that the two parts go together—normally independent clauses don’t, but there’s an exception for quotations. There’s also an exception for things like questions “Do you know?” she asked. The first part is a question but the second isn’t. Still, they go together, and that’s why “she” wouldn’t be capitalized.
When you put a period inside the end quotation, that idea is finished. “I know.” She continued, “Do you know?”
If there’s a change in speaker, you need a paragraph change.
“I know.”
He replied, “Do you know?”
You’ve never let a girl down, I take it. It is most certainly possible to sob words.
Main Entry:
1sob
Pronunciation:
\ˈsäb\
Function:
verb
Inflected Form(s):
sobbed; sob·bing
Etymology:
Middle English sobben; akin to Middle Low German sabben to drool
Date:
13th century
intransitive verb1 a: to catch the breath audibly in a spasmodic contraction of the throat b: to cry or weep with convulsive catching of the breath2: to make a sound like that of a sob or sobbingtransitive verb1: to bring (as oneself) to a specified state by sobbing <sobbed himself to sleep>
2: to utter with sobs <sobbed out her grief>