angie
Where does the period go when using quotation marks in British English? I'm learning British English and I heard that they can either place the period inside the quotation marks or outside them, since in American English they always go inside the quotation marks (as far as I've been told).
Apr 20, 2017 12:47 PM
Answers · 12
1
It's more common for the British to put them outside and it's more common for U.S. writers to put them inside. But it's not simple or universal. If you're serious about it, you need to obtain a "style guide," "style manual," or "style sheet" for the publication you are writing for and follow whatever it says. Here's a blog entry that discusses it from the point of view of the U.S. APA style guide: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/08/punctuating-around-quotation-marks.html The "quick chart" at the top is your quick answer. But the most important sentence, in my opinion, is this one: "As a final note, we’d like to say... that not all fields or publishers in the United States and Canada use American style punctuation."
April 20, 2017
1
Unless you're applying for a job as an editor in publishing, it really doesn't matter too much. Yes, we can put the full stop before the quotation marks, but we can also put them inside the quotation marks as most Americans do. I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you.
April 20, 2017
1
In general, I don't think anyone would mind, unless there is a style guide you have to follow. I notice that I do both but you should really be consistent. Here is one UK English style guide: https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-a
April 20, 2017
That I didn't know about. Thanks for clarifying!
April 21, 2017
Yes, don't talk about 'periods' to British people. For us it means, well, you know....
April 20, 2017
Show more
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!