Answers to Questions About Punctuation #3

Answers to Questions About Punctuation #3 Answers to Questions About Punctuation #3 Answers to Questions About Punctuation #3 By Mark Nichol Here are a few questions from DailyWritingTips.com readers about various punctuation issues, followed by my responses. 1. A lawyer asks a witness about a quoted statement made to the witness by another person, such as â€Å"Did she tell you, ‘I have to call the authorities, you’re going back. Stay right here.† Should there be a question mark after the closing quotation mark? The framing sentence the one in which the quotation is framed, is a question, so the terminal punctuation should be a question mark. However, the division of the quotation into two sentences, with a period intervening, is awkward, because that terminal punctuation interferes with the role of the question mark. (The first sentence also includes a comma splice, in which two independent clauses are erroneously separated by a comma rather than a stronger punctuation mark such as a semicolon.) Here’s my solution: â€Å"Did she tell you, ‘I have to call the authorities; you’re going back stay right here’?† 2. Is the following quotation punctuated correctly? â€Å"Do you think she has the nerve to tell him, ‘You are a terrible man.’?† I think I recall a rule that you can’t have two kinds of punctuation at the end of a quote, but how else can it be done? The question mark preempts the period: â€Å"Do you think she has the nerve to tell him, ‘You are a terrible man’?† 3. Is it still correct to place a semicolon before however and a comma after it? Yes. Here’s a post on the topic. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words50 Idioms About Arms, Hands, and FingersWhile vs. Whilst