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Is it ok to use an exclamation mark in the middle of a sentence like in the following? (first exclamation mark)

"Hurry!" said Mark," we can't be late!"

Or in:

Hurry! we need to go!

aqua
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2 Answers2

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That's not an exclamation mark in the middle of a sentence, that's two separate sentences. English has an imperative mood and exclamations like "Hurry!" or "Run!" are complete sentences as the subject is implied and the predicate is the only word in the sentence. You should write "Hurry!" said Mark, "We can't be late!" or "Hurry! We need to go!" as "We can't be late!" and "We need to go!" are independent sentences from

Eli Sadoff
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  • If it is two sentences, which one do the words said Mark belong to? I would treat it as one sentence, but would not trouble with an exclamation mark after Hurry, as you already have one at the end of the sentence anyway. *"Hurry", said Mark, "we can't be late"! Note I have placed the exclamation mark after the final quotation marks. – WS2 Feb 24 '16 at 23:51
  • @ws2 it's 3 sentences. "Hurry!" is 1 complete imperative sentence. "We can't be late" is a second. Both are quoted within a 3rd narrative sentence. – H.R.Rambler Feb 24 '16 at 23:54
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    @WS2 the placement of the quotation mark varies with the style guide you use. I prefer to have them within the quotes. Additionally, there exists an incredibly obscure punctuation mark called the exclamation comma which would be best used here, but it's not standardly accepted, so I think that going with either a comma or an exclamation mark works here. It truly comes down to stylistic preference. – Eli Sadoff Feb 24 '16 at 23:55
  • @H.R.Rambler Sentences within sentences? That's a new one on me! – WS2 Feb 25 '16 at 00:00
  • @WS2 You don't generally have sentences within sentences, but if you are using quotes you can because the quotes are "blocks" and are thus treated as nouns. – Eli Sadoff Feb 25 '16 at 00:02
  • @ws2 and if you want to really pop your mind... look at a large "block quote" that gets introduced with a colon. (ex. Consider the following quote: ) You're actually looking at a sentence that may contain complete paragraphs. You may not often hear it described that way, but compare two rules you already know: colons mark the end of an introductory clause, colons don't mark the end of sentences. – H.R.Rambler Feb 25 '16 at 00:15
  • You should have a period after Mark, not a comma. – Stu W Feb 25 '16 at 01:07
  • @H.R.Rambler But this isn't one of those type of structures. – WS2 Feb 25 '16 at 08:14
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    @ws2 ... You understand that I was giving a second (more extreme) example to emphasize the principle that I referred to, and that you doubted the existence of... Right? Ps. This is a rhetorical question. I'm not overly concerned if you not "getting it". Just stick the idea in the back of your mind, and some day when you're reading you'll notice and say "wow quotes create sentences inside of sentences! Those internet guys were right!". – H.R.Rambler Feb 25 '16 at 13:02
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Never ok to use exclamation point in middle of a sentence

It is never ok to use an exclamation mark in the middle of a sentence. The exclamation mark always defines the end of the sentence, regardless of your intentions.

But..

There are two cases where you might safely place exclamation marks elsewhere in a sentence.

The first special case: the mark forms part of a title or name. For example, Jeb Bush added an exclamation mark to his name to help his US presidential campaign.

In the sentence 'The Jeb! campaign fizzled', the exclamation mark is permitted, and the next word, campaign, isn't capitalised.

The second special case: For a special effect or comic book effect; Biff! Pow! Proink!

But even then, the exclamation mark defines the end of the phrase/sentence.

Your first example sentence

You actually have three sentences or sentence/phrases here.

The first is "Hurry!" The exclamation mark defines the end of the sentence/phrase.

The second is " we cant be late!" In this sentence you ought to

  • close the space between the opening quotes and the we

  • capitalise we, and

  • add a space between the Mark, and 'We...}

The third sentence is the complete narrator's voice, from the first to last quotes.

Your second example

Your second example sentence: capitalise "we" and it's grammatically fine.

Community
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Foolishness
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  • Use parentheses to use an exclamation point in the midst of a sentence. We had all just turned 21, so it was time to go out to the bars-except for Jason who was still only 20 (but he had a fake, so he came, too!). – Stu W Feb 25 '16 at 01:11