In or Out?

» Laughman - In or Out?

Another excellent article, clear and concise as always.

I note that you say these rules apply to American English only. Are the rules different for English English, (or, in my case, Irish English)? I ask because normally I would follow the rules as you have laid them out here.

(Now I'll spend ten minutes checking this message for grammatical errors before posting!)

-- posted by Laughman

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» JustBeachy - Re: In or Out?

Hi Martin!

Thanks for the kind words! Actually, there is a difference in these rules from American English to British English.

In British English, periods and commas go *outside* the quotes. Which actually makes more sense to me, but when writing in the U.S. I have to follow the American English conventions. Can't win 'em all!

Have a great weekend,

Barb

-- posted by JustBeachy

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» A1_Viking - Re: In or Out?

In response to message posted by Laughman:

Hi Barb - I find this stuff fascinating, and I'm particularly interested in the differences between US and UK English too, as I have a couple of US Clients and I have to be very careful with the grammar - this explains why your site is on my "must visit often" list!
I think Barb means this, in the US, you'd write:
His favorite ice-cream is called "Teeth-chillers."
But in UK English we'd write:
His favourite ice-cream is called "Teeth-chillers".
But when we write written speech (conversations), we also put the final punctuation inside the quotation marks.
Perhaps this is what Barb means? Is it? Mind you, I'm standing upside down on my head in a land downunder - everything makes sense to me! Ha ha.
I have a question though, Barb... is the jury still hung on whether or not to use a comma before the final "and" item in a series? And is it true that this rule is also different between UK and US English? (Remember, I'm standing on my head and I need all the help I can get.)
Bye!
Donna

-- posted by A1_Viking

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» AmericanEnglish - "In or Out"

Great job, Barb! I wish everyone who uses American English would read your article, especially journalists and editors of books!

Watch pronoun agreement:
"the student . . . their [should be his or her]"
"the person . . . they [he or she]"

-- posted by AmericanEnglish

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» JustBeachy - Re: "In or Out"

In response to message posted by AmericanEnglish:

Hi K.A.!

Thanks for your feedback! I use "their" and "they" because, in this age of tireless political correctness, it is tedious and wordy to use "him/her," "s/he," etc. It is now acceptable to use the third-person pronouns in this case. Check out my article on this topic,
Why Does S/he Get Offended When We Talk About Him/Her?

Let me know what you think! Barb

-- posted by JustBeachy

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» Laughman - Re: "In or Out"

In response to message posted by AmericanEnglish:

Very good point. I try to use plurals only in that situation:

"students...their" or "people...they"

It usually does the trick - otherwise a writer can tie him or her self in knots trying to be politically correct.

Cheers,

-- posted by Laughman

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» JustBeachy - Re: Re: "In or Out"

In response to message posted by Laughman:

And Martin, you know I'm the last one to be politically correct! ;) Barb

-- posted by JustBeachy

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