How do I punctuate a question that contains a quote that is a declarative sentence?

Question

I'm stuck. A friend of mine stated on Facebook how much she hates the music that ice cream trucks play. So, I responded:

How about they play, "Hello. It's ice cream you're looking for"?

It looks wrong. I don't know if I should put a period after 'for' or not.

Please help.

Before someone weighs in with a "The correct way to punctuate here is ...", let me say that I've seen recommendations (a) always to avoid 'double punctuation' and thus write Did you say "It's good to see you"?, and (b) to use double punctuation where it adds clarification (Did you say "It's good to see you!"? // Did you write 'It's good to see you.'?) Style guides are just that: guides. — Edwin Ashworth, May 31 '14 at 22:11

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered May 31 '14 at 22:12

0

It's correct as it is (except I'd remove the comma after 'play').

How about they play "Hello. It's ice cream you're looking for"?

And, no, you don't need a period after 'for'. [I know I violated the rule of period inside quote in the sentence you just read, but it was deliberate. This is becoming increasingly acceptable.] But I think you can, if you want.

Here's a succinct discussion with example sentences: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp

answered May 31 '14 at 22:12

ba_ul

365

But it's a style guide. There are others. – Edwin Ashworth May 31 '14 at 22:14
True, and I'm curious to know which style guides suggest otherwise. – ba_ul May 31 '14 at 22:18
I don't really want to re-cover this ground yet again, but here are two style guides in one. (Don't use the terms 'UK convention' and 'US convention' slavishly.) – Edwin Ashworth May 31 '14 at 23:09

How do I punctuate a question that contains a quote that is a declarative sentence?

1 Answers1