The Grammar Doctor

Q. Ex. My favorite story was "In the Bag." In this case the punctuation is inside the quotes.

Ex. Did Gerald really say, "Money is no object"? In the case of a question sentence, the punctuation goes outside the quotes.

What happens in the case of a question in the quotes in a question sentence?

Ex. Did Gerald say, "Where are you?" Do you use two question marks? Does the ? go inside, outside, or in both places?

A. Here's what the Gregg Reference Manual says: "If the quoted material and the entire sentence each require the same mark of punctuation, use only one mark--the one that comes first," so it would be
Did Gerald say, "Where are you?"


Back to The Grammar Doctor Answers Your Question