Ads
related to: punctuate this sentence properly- Free Plagiarism Checker
Compare text to billions of web
pages and major content databases.
- Grammarly Pro
For writing at work or school.
Unlock advanced features.
- Free Punctuation Checker
Fix punctuation and spelling.
Find errors instantly.
- Do Your Best Work
A writing assistant built for work.
Make excellent writing effortless.
- Free Plagiarism Checker
Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Punctuation in the English language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. [1] English punctuation has two complementary aspects: phonological punctuation, linked to how the sentence can be read aloud, particularly to pausing; [2] and grammatical punctuation, linked to the structure of the sentence. [3]
In British English, punctuation marks such as full stops and commas are placed inside the quotation mark only if they are part of what is being quoted, and placed outside the closing quotation mark if part of the containing sentence. In American English, however, such punctuation is generally placed inside the closing quotation mark regardless.
Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage provides an early example of the rule: "All signs of punctuation used with words in quotation marks must be placed according to the sense." [28] When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works and sentence fragments, this style places periods and commas outside the quotation marks:
The sentence can be given as a grammatical puzzle [7] [8] [9] or an item on a test, [1] [2] for which one must find the proper punctuation to give it meaning. Hans Reichenbach used a similar sentence ("John where Jack had...") in his 1947 book Elements of Symbolic Logic as an exercise for the reader, to illustrate the different levels of language, namely object language and metalanguage.
Sentence spacing guidance is provided in many language and style guides. The majority of style guides that use a Latin-derived alphabet as a language base now prescribe or recommend the use of a single space after the concluding punctuation of a sentence. [1] [2]
A few reference grammars address sentence spacing, as increased spacing between words is punctuation in itself. [64] Most do not. Grammar guides typically cover terminal punctuation and the proper construction of sentences—but not the spacing between sentences. [65]
Ads
related to: punctuate this sentence properly