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There were forty-nine messages, the first of which was “Is it true that you moved to Florida?” sent to my cell phone.

It seems like there should be another comma after Florida, but you've already got the question mark and quotation mark there. Is it okay like this?

choster
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Sai
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1 Answers1

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The short answer is you have punctuated it correctly by the conventions of American English. The question mark is inside the quotation marks that set off the question. Sequential punctuation marks aren't used except for the period that comes after the ellipsis at the end of a sentence. I'd give you an example, but I am too ….

Kris
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Michael Owen Sartin
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  • what about a comma before the quote? Is that just BrE? – anongoodnurse Jan 10 '14 at 05:18
  • @Susan: In American English, there is no settled style for handling punctuation between "was" and the beginning of a quotation. As in British English, American English generally requires a comma after an attributed verb immediately preceding a quoted complete sentence: He said, "I've had enough!" But for quoted sentences or sentence fragments preceded by "that" or "whether," for example, the Chicago Manual of Style explicitly advises not to punctuate with a comma. I'm not sure where the OP's example falls between these two camps, but I'd be inclined not to include a comma after "was." – Sven Yargs Jan 10 '14 at 06:12
  • @SvenYargs - The Chicago Manual also recommends this: The Christmas carol we're going to tackle today is "What Child Is This ?," written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix. That, in my opinion, is nasty! – anongoodnurse Jan 10 '14 at 06:36
  • I agree with you completely. Is that in the 15th edition of Chicago? I couldn't find it after a quick search (through a bound book). – Sven Yargs Jan 10 '14 at 07:08
  • @SvenYargs - it's a reference from the most recent edition, taken from an online source comparing AP, NYT, Chicago and others. But I saw that you were indeed correct. – anongoodnurse Jan 10 '14 at 10:06