# Punctuation for multiple quotes in one sentence
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 27, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288 "2012-11-27T17:55:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Rob\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rob_B)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/21 "2017-09-12T15:23:01Z")
Sorry for the typo. Don’t we have an edit option?
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### Author:  [@Rob\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rob_B)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/22 "2017-09-12T15:26:59Z")
And now I have the edit option!
But I don’t see any option to insert a screenshot. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Rob\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rob_B)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/23 "2017-09-12T15:28:28Z")
Let’s try another exercise:
Robin said, “My friend says that the responses included ‘I decided to vote at the last minute’ and ‘I made my decision weeks before the election.’”
Robin said, “My friend says that the responses included ‘I decided to vote at the last minute,’ ‘I made my decision weeks before the election,’ and ‘I didn’t vote, did you?’”
In the second example, the comma is required for the list.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/24 "2017-09-12T15:31:59Z")
Of course, logical style is to use a period to end all three sentences, the two quoted sentences and the one containing them, and to put inside the quote marks exactly what is being quoted. Thus:
The responses included both “I decided to vote at the last minute.” and “I made my decision weeks before the election.”.
At the end there, the period inside the quote mark is because what was quoted was a sentence, and thus the period is part of the quote. And the period outside of the quote mark is to end the sentence which started with “The responses included…”, and is necessary because the other periods ended quoted sentences, not the outer sentence.
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### Author:  [@Rob\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rob_B)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/25 "2017-09-12T16:20:48Z")
Okay, thank you, Chronos. 🙂
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/26 "2017-09-12T17:40:29Z")
> [@Rob\_B](#):
>
> And now I have the edit option!
>
> But I don’t see any option to insert a screenshot. 🙂
Welcome to the SDMB, **Rob\_B**.
You can only edit your posts for 5 minutes. After that, the posts are no longer editable.
We do not allow images (screenshots or otherwise) to be posted here. You can put the image on any sort of image hosting site (photobucket, imagur, etc) and link to it if you’d like.
If you have any further questions about how the message board itself works, feel free to ask in our About This Message Board forum.
Welcome, and we hope you enjoy your time here. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/27 "2017-09-12T19:14:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> We do not allow images (screenshots or otherwise) to be posted here. You can put the image on any sort of image hosting site (photobucket, imagur, etc) and link to it if you’d like.
Correction: That should say “imgur, etc”. There’s no ‘a’ in “imgur”, and there’s no photo hosting in Photobucket.
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### Author:  [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/28 "2017-09-13T01:21:37Z")
I think you need to get rid of the period at the end of the first quote. It should go comma, end quotation mark, and, beginning quotation mark.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/29 "2017-09-13T01:31:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Of course, logical style is to use a period to end all three sentences, the two quoted sentences and the one containing them, and to put inside the quote marks exactly what is being quoted. Thus:
>
> The responses included both “I decided to vote at the last minute.” and “I made my decision weeks before the election.”.
>
> At the end there, the period inside the quote mark is because what was quoted was a sentence, and thus the period is part of the quote. And the period outside of the quote mark is to end the sentence which started with “The responses included…”, and is necessary because the other periods ended quoted sentences, not the outer sentence.
It may be “logical,” but it doesn’t agree with any style guides I am aware of. Thus it will be seen as a mistake.
The rules of language aren’t governed by logic.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/30 "2017-09-13T02:46:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Of course, logical style is to use a period to end all three sentences, the two quoted sentences and the one containing them, and to put inside the quote marks exactly what is being quoted. Thus:
>
> The responses included both “I decided to vote at the last minute.” and “I made my decision weeks before the election.”.
I have never ever seen a sentence punctuated like that. While that may be “logical” (and I do see the logic behind it), I don’t know of any single style guide that would suggest to render the sentence that way. That’s just an unholy mess of punctuation. Unless you’re just trying to make the point that this is the “logical” style, but not any style widely accepted in the English language. And American style quotes never put the period outside the quotation marks. (Or at least I am trying my hardest to think of an exception to the rule, but I can’t.)
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/31 "2017-09-13T16:32:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> I have never ever seen a sentence punctuated like that. While that may be “logical” (and I do see the logic behind it), I don’t know of any single style guide that would suggest to render the sentence that way.
Why would we need style guides if logic had anything to do with it? Moreso, why would we have multiple, contradicting style guides if logic were a factor?
> [@](#):
>
> And American style quotes never put the period outside the quotation marks. (Or at least I am trying my hardest to think of an exception to the rule, but I can’t.)
British style puts the quotation marks on the inside. I like the way that looks and I’ve been sneaking that style into my posts here. No one has yet said anything. Let’s make it spread.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-for-multiple-quotes-in-one-sentence/642288/32 "2017-09-13T16:38:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> Why would we need style guides if logic had anything to do with it? Moreso, why would we have multiple, contradicting style guides if logic were a factor?
>
> British style puts the quotation marks on the inside. I like the way that looks and I’ve been sneaking that style into my posts here. No one has yet said anything. Let’s make it spread.
Yes, we agree on both points (though I can’t break out of the habit of putting periods and commas on the inside of quotes, as much as I don’t like it most of the time.)
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