Placement of question mark when terminal quote has no question mark but sentence does

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Question mark usage/position when sentence ends with a declarative quotation?

If I'm quoting something someone said and the quote does not have a question mark, but I want to end the sentence with a question mark, would it be

Are you sure she said "Spicy?"

or

Are you sure she said "Spicy"?

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/10328/question-mark-usage-position-when-sentence-ends-with-a-declarative-quotation — , Aug 08 '11 at 23:23

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 08 '11 at 23:28

2

You should write

Are you sure she said "Spicy"?

See for example Jane Straus's Blue book of grammar and punctuation.

answered Aug 08 '11 at 23:28

What about a period? – JShoe Aug 08 '11 at 23:31

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 02 '18 at 20:15

The question mark goes after the quotation mark. Unlike commas and periods, a question mark that is not part of the quoted text goes outside the quotation marks.

From 300 Days of Better Writing:

However, if your final punctuation is a question mark, semicolon, or colon, and if that punctuation mark is not part of the quotation, then it should go outside. For example: Did the boss say “fire everyone you can”?

Placement of question mark when terminal quote has no question mark but sentence does

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