I understand. It’s terribly easy to forget all those tricky grammar rules you learned back in school.
In fact, there are so many of them, even good writers can have difficulty keeping track of where things belong, or when to use this or that.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I know the ones that confuse me most are the rules surrounding punctuation.
Now wait a minute. Before you start telling me you already know where to put a period, there’s more to it than just that.
How about punctuating quotations? Questions within questions?
You can try to memorize the rules. Or, if you’d rather not, you can redefine your thinking instead.
Here are 3 rules you’ll encounter, and easier ways to remember them based on information you already know:
Stop Thinking: Punctuation needs to be placed inside quotation marks.
This sounds easy enough, but people tend to forget whether the rule is ‘inside’ or ‘outside,’ when they don’t understand the reasoning behind it.
Also, there is an exception to this rule.
Start Thinking: I know all sentences need appropriate punctuation.
You know all sentences need appropriate punctuation.
You know quotations are merely spoken sentences.
Therefore, quoted statements and questions still need a period, question mark, exclamation or comma, before they end. So, when someone is speaking, punctuation is placed inside quotation marks.
- Incorrect: The English teacher said, “Please use appropriate punctuation”.
- Incorrect: “Please use appropriate punctuation”, the English teacher said.
- Correct: The English teacher said, “Please use appropriate punctuation.”
- Correct: “Please use appropriate punctuation,” the English teacher said.
Stop Thinking: Where there is a quoted question within a question, only one question mark is used. It is placed inside the quotation marks.
This one is confusing because people sometimes wonder if they need to punctuate both questions.
Start Thinking: I’ve never seen a sentence that ended with two question marks.
Well, I certainly hope you’ve never seen two question marks in the same sentence. This is simple logic, and it still follows the original rule of placing punctuation inside quotation marks.
- Incorrect: Did you hear the teacher say, “Isn’t grammar fun?”?
- Incorrect: Did you hear the teacher say, “Isn’t grammar fun”?
- Correct: Did you hear the teacher say, “Isn’t grammar fun?”
“Isn’t grammar fun?” needs a question mark because it is a question, and since it already appears at the end of the sentence, a second question mark isn’t needed to complete “Did you hear…?”
Stop Thinking: If a sentence is a question, but it contains quoted material which isn’t a question, the question mark lies outside the quotation marks.
Here’s where it all gets really complicated, because this is the exception to the rule of punctuating inside quotations marks. Exceptions tend to throw people off.
Start Thinking: I know all questions end with question marks.
If you place the question mark inside a quotation that is not a question, then your question doesn’t get its appropriate punctuation.
- Incorrect: Haven’t you heard, “A watched pot never boils?”
- Correct: Haven’t you heard, “A watched pot never boils”?
“A watched pot never boils” isn’t a question, so it doesn’t need a question mark. “Haven’t you heard … ?” is a question, so it does need a question mark.
Use Your Common Sense
There are umpteen grammar rules out there, and none of us can remember all of them without the occasional (or more-than-occasional) refresher.
Obviously, not all of these rules can be broken down into common sense, but I believe the former three can. I hope the ways in which I’ve rearranged them has been helpful to you.
Then again, you might have your own unique ways of remembering certain grammar rules. If so, please share them with us.
Thanks! I've been struggling with this lately.
LPC,
I'm really glad this was helpful to you (this topic was actually a reader request, so I'm hoping I cleared up the main areas of concern). I'd like to do more common sense grammar posts in the future, so keep an eye out.
Just waiting for someone to comment and say, "You've made it even more complicated!" That would be fair enough, because everyone learns things differently.
Thanks!
Hi Suzannah,
I loved this post!
Having been a science writer in a former life, I was shocked and amazed to be reminded that I have lately been incorrectly using a rule you call out here.
I'm so embarrassed!
I enjoyed how you used the prompts, too.
Every time I visit your site, I learn valuable nuggets of information.
Thank you, Suzannah!
🙂
Hey Lori,
Don't be embarrassed. I think I was using the third rule incorrectly — I would have been placing the question mark inside the quotations, even if the quotation wasn't a question. But, when you stop and think about it, it really does make sense to have it outside. Don't worry, I learned a lot in writing this post, as well. Had to do a bit of research! Thank you 🙂
Thanks for your insights on writer's block. You have a good and helpful blog. I think the key is to find your passion and then write about it. Sometimes it's easy to fall into the trap of wondering if anyone cares about what I write, or even if it will make a difference in a person's life. When I start thinking like that, I just remind myself that I should keep writing simply because I love to write!
Keep up the good work.
Fr. Michael,
I agree with you that it's important to write what you're passionate about. Otherwise, you'll burn out quickly. I understand your feeling that perhaps no one else cares about what you write. I've often felt this way too. I guess the key is to work on something that people *will* care about. That should be your mission.
Thanks!
Thanks for this post. I thought I understood punctuation until I began to see so many variations in recent years.
I've seen writers put the punctuation mark inside a phrase or word with quotation marks even when it's not a full sentence, like this.=> John is not the president of the club, but he's definitely the "head honcho."
What's the verdict?
Thanks for the rules. Please check out the punctuation at http://www.mysisterdalesgarden.com let me know if i've screwed up.
Hi Miriam,
Checked out the home page of your site and noticed a couple of sentences that could use some commas, a double period at the end of one sentence. Probably another quick proofread would help you clean it up.
Thanks 🙂
I think it's also important to note one other aspect of punctuation usage. If a citation is needed when quoting something from a book the period goes outside the parenthesis. For example:
"Scout, it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (54).
Dane,
I remember those citations from writing essays during my university days! I would probably need a refresher if I were to write one of those today 🙂 Thanks for adding this.
Hi Suzannah,
Thank you so much for writing this post. No doubt I will use it to refresh my memory in the future 🙂 Hope things are well with you.
Hey Melanie,
This post was definitely a labour of love! I hope it clears things up a little 🙂