“Always put the comma inside quotation marks,” the professor said.
Then she added, “ The same goes for the period.”
“Does the same rule apply for the question mark?” he asked.
“Only if the entire statement is a question,” she replied, “and never add a comma after a question mark. Also, be sure to lowercase the first word of a continuing quote that follows an attribution and a comma.
“However, you must capitalize the first word of a new sentence after an attribution,” she continued. “Do not forget to open and close the sentence with quotation marks.”
“Why are there no quotation marks after the word ‘comma’ at the end of the fourth paragraph?” he asked.
“Because the same person is speaking at the beginning of the next paragraph,” she said. “Notice that the new paragraph does open with quotation marks. Note, too, that a quote inside of a quotation needs a single quotation mark, as around the word ‘comma’ above.”
