Use of Single Quotation Marks Before Period/Comma/Question Mark/Exclamation Point

Question

this is request for clarification on the rules for single quotation marks (apostrophe symbol on keyboard) in novels. My understanding is that single quotation marks, when used to indicate a quote within a quote, follow the same standard rules as double quotation marks. But single quotation marks, when not used within a quote, go before the period/comma/question mark/exclamation point that ends a sentence.

For example,

"Yeah, Nancy shouted, 'Get out of here!'"
Despite technically owning it, he still considers himself as a 'renter'.
Despite technically owning it, he still refers to himself as a 'renter.'

Is this correct, right? #3 looks wrong. Thank you.

I think that double quotes are typical in the US and single in the UK; and also, that the period goes inside the quotes in the US, and outside the quotes in the UK -- regardless whether the quotes are single or double. — aparente001, Jun 07 '22 at 05:05
Yes, no wonder. I live in the US, but my editor was Irish, so his use of the single quotation marks confused me. — Danny D., Jun 09 '22 at 01:56
Does this answer your question? How should I punctuate around quotes where the punctuation required by the quote interferes with the punctuation of the sentence? The more exact duplicate of this question was closed before anyone posted an answer to it, but here is a link to it as well: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/197534/single-quotation-marks-punctuation-marks-outside-or-inside. — Sven Yargs, Jun 11 '22 at 18:42

MarcInManhattan · Answer 1 · 2022-06-07T05:10:13.373

1

Your understanding is incorrect. Single quotation marks always follow the same rules as double quotation marks. You can actually think of them as the same mark but with different appearances, which help to distinguish them when they are nested.

Therefore, the positions of the punctuation in both examples 2 and 3 are correct (and quite common). You should follow whichever convention you generally use for double quotation marks: The period goes either inside or outside.

(By the way, you should really check this in a style guide. What I wrote is consistent with CMOS, and I'm not aware of any guides that say otherwise.)

edited Jun 07 '22 at 05:10

answered Jun 07 '22 at 05:01

MarcInManhattan

7,930

Single quotation marks follow the double quotation mark rules when the single quotation marks signify a quote taken directly from a person. But single quotation marks can also refer to things that are not quotations, such as a cheeky, almost sarcastic opinion/assertion of the text's narrator. So, I plan to use #2 for the text, even though my double quotations marks always go outside of the period (like the single quotation marks when they refer to a quotation). So you are right, but I don't think what you said is always true. – Danny D. Jun 09 '22 at 01:59
@DannyD. As I said, you should consult a style guide, because I certainly haven't read every one of them. If you choose to use a style in which there is a distinction between single and double quotation marks, then I think that that's fine, as long as you're consistent. – MarcInManhattan Jun 09 '22 at 04:20
Okay thank you! – Danny D. Jun 09 '22 at 23:20

Use of Single Quotation Marks Before Period/Comma/Question Mark/Exclamation Point

1 Answers1