Quotation Marks – Capitalization/Punctuation
Jared Aragona
Quotation marks–-capitalization/punctuation: Capitalize and punctuate direct quotes correctly.
Periods and commas should go inside quotation marks if no parenthetical citation:
Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” (Incorrect)
Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Correct)
Periods and commas should only go outside the parenthetical citation if there is one.
Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (42) (Incorrect)
Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (42). (Incorrect)
Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” (42). (Correct)
When using a signal phrase, use a comma after the signal phrase and capitalize the first word of a complete sentence:
John F. Kennedy stated, “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Incorrect)
John F. Kennedy stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Correct)
When a signal phrase goes in the middle of a quote, do not capitalize the second part of quote if it’s midsentence. Only if it’s a new sentence.
“The night is cold,” she said, “so the cows are sleeping in the barn.”
“The night is cold,” she said. “The cows are sleeping in the barn.”
When a signal phrase goes after the quote, do not capitalize the signal phrase, even if the quote includes a question mark or exclamation mark.
“The toast is burned on one side,” she muttered.
“Why is the toast burned on one side?” she asked.
“The toast is burned on one side!” she screamed.
The MLCKRB (Master List Code Key and Rule Book): An English Grammar & Style Handbook by Jared Aragona, CC BY 4.0