A Conversation for English Usage in the Edited Guide
Error: quotation marks
TRiG (Ireland) A dog, so bade in office Started conversation Dec 16, 2004
As for closing-quote marks, it depends on the context. If the quote is a whole sentence, then the full-stop should go inside the closing quote marks, eg: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Though if it's part of a sentence, it should go outside of the quote marks, eg: The opening words to A Tale of Two Cities are, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'.
Sorry, but this is plain wrong. If quoted material can stand alone as a complete sentence (whether or not it was one in its original source) and if it is preceded by a punctuation mark, its closing full stop is placed within the inverted commas:
The opening words to A Tale of Two Cities are 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'.
The opening words to A Tale of Two Cities are, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'
USA
TRiG (Ireland) A dog, so bade in office Posted Dec 16, 2004
Might it also be worth your while mentioning, just as a by-the-way, that these standards differ from American usage, in which all periods precede closing quotation marks?
TRiG.
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Error: quotation marks
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