Great, like fighting over oxford commas wasn't bad enough...

[jfm]

Now we're moving things outside quotation marks?

(I totally buy the rationale, but I can't imagine forcing myself to do this. And even though I know it's purely and only a conditioned response, it still looks goofy to me.)

[metulj]

Now we're moving things outside quotation marks?

(I totally buy the rationale, but I can't imagine forcing myself to do this. And even though I know it's purely and only a conditioned response, it still looks goofy to me.)

John said, "The ball is black."

I see the point of "outside," but then John's statement would be without a period.

[Randall's Randy Rebecca]

John said, "The ball is black."

I see the point of "outside," but then John's statement would be without a period.

Exactly. It would hurt me to do it the British way. Really. Like JFM, I buy the rationale but I still find it cringe-worthy.

[jfm]

John said, "The ball is black."

I see the point of "outside," but then John's statement would be without a period.

I think you still use it inside if it's a legitimate part of the quote? I'm not actually sure. I'm not British, it confuses me.

[jmcnair]

John said, "The ball is black."

I see the point of "outside," but then John's statement would be without a period.

Logically, I would expect:

John said, "The ball is black.".

With one full stop inside to complete the statement, and one outside to complete the sentence containing it.

Or maybe:

John asked, "Is the ball black?".

Otherwise my regular expressions get wonky.

[binR Bishop]

Now we're moving things outside quotation marks?

(I totally buy the rationale, but I can't imagine forcing myself to do this. And even though I know it's purely and only a conditioned response, it still looks goofy to me.)

Wasn't Edens talking about this awhile back?

Anyway, I'm too old a dog to learn an unnecessary and uninteresting new trick. Don't expect me to go moving punctuation marks outside the quotes.

[edens]

Wasn't Edens talking about this awhile back?

Oh, I never talk about punctuation. I mean, shit, we're hardly even acquainted.

[Jerseyhighlander]

I say, "It's about time."

"The ball is black," said John

He read it in "Metro Pulse."

Did she read it in "Metro Pulse"?

Hodges writes: "Place the dash, the question mark, and the exclamation point within the quotation marks when they apply only to the quoted matter. Place them outside when they apply to the whole sentence."

My question then, "Why doesn't the rule also apply to periods?"

[Scott]

Frankly who cares?

[Raincrow]

Hodges writes: "Place the dash, the question mark, and the exclamation point within the quotation marks when they apply only to the quoted matter. Place them outside when they apply to the whole sentence."

My question, "Why doesn't the rule also apply to periods?"

I like Britishisms when they suit me. This isn't the case with regard to quotation marks. Seems like single quotation marks covers the issue of a quote within a quote much more aesthetically and logically, too.