Punctuation
Q. Have you dropped use of the printer’s rule? In the 15th edition, it appears that you do not italicize punctuation after italics, whether for titles or in running text. I can’t find a discussion of this point, and wondered if you could clarify how to set punctuation after italics. Thank you. Answer »
Q. Is it always necessary to use an en dash while it is representing a range of numbers(15–30)? Answer »
Q. Our writing department uses Chicago’s style of putting spaces between the periods in ellipses. The graphic designers argue that in typesetting, the space is much smaller, and so use the ellipses character that is built into our publishing software. Who is correct? Answer »
Q. I’m teaching a class at the university after a long break and have discovered that most of my students are putting commas or other punctuation outside quotes rather than inside. Is either correct? Answer »
Q. Does the following sentence require a question mark or can it be given a period? Would you please make sure she gets a letter for her two scarves, ten stocking caps, men’s clothing, and household items brought in on October 30 of last year. Answer »
Q. Oh, English-language gurus, is it ever proper to put a question mark and an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence in formal writing? This author is giving me a fit with some of her overkill emphases, and now there is this sentence that has both marks at the end. My everlasting gratitude for letting me know what I should tell this person. Answer »
Q. In the initial manuscript stage (submitted by hard copy, if it matters), is it preferable to include page numbers or not, considering that they would be useful for editors’ reference but do not reflect the actual page numbers used for publication? And if page numbers are preferred, where do they go? Should the first page be numbered? Should pages with endnotes? Bibliography? Answer »
Q. In Canada we have a province that is almost always abbreviated as B.C.. When using it at the end of a sentence do you add the period (as I just did), or leave it as is? Without the period, it looks like a run-on sentence, but with the period it looks like too many dots. Answer »
Q. Where does punctuation fall in the context of botanical varieties, which are treated with single quotation marks? I have been assiduously changing commas that are inside the final single quote, moving them outside: Excellent garden varieties include Ceanothus ‘dark star’, ‘Yankee Point’, and ‘Joyce Coulter’. But I’m now starting to have doubts. Answer »
Q. When using a superscript footnote number at the end of a sentence, should the period precede or follow the footnote number? What about footnote numbers in midsentence that fall next to some other form of punctuation (comma, semicolon, etc.)? Answer »
Q. I frequently edit indexes for heavily illustrated books. The indexer has been instructed to index the photographs. The result can be somewhat strange: Answer »
Q. When a plural possessive ends a sentence, where does CMOS recommend that the apostrophe fall—before or after the period? For example: Because UAVs fly relatively close to the ground, their surveillance “footprints” are smaller than the satellites’. Is there a rule in CMOS 15 that covers this? Answer »
Q. It’s probably in the book somewhere, but I cannot find it. Can you tell me the preferred way to place an asterisk when it appears adjacent to a period, or any other punctuation (especially colon and comma)? Inside or outside the punctuation mark? Thanks. Answer »
Q. Hi—I seem to remember in an earlier edition of the CMOS that, if parenthetical material ended in a period, the final period of the sentence should be omitted, even if the rules would otherwise require it. Here’s an example: Answer »
Q. If I have a sentence that includes a parenthesis (say I’m talking about a 401[k] plan), do I really have to change the (k) to brackets? It seems wrong to be messing with the government like that :). But then again, if the sentence had a parenthesis that ended with 401(k), I’d have a double parenthesis. Answer »
Q. Dear CMOS, I am puzzled by what appears to me as an inconsistency in your demonstration of footnote style with author-date system (15th ed.). On page 624, entry 16.120 demonstrates a footnote that is clearly indented. However, the text sample on page 630 (fig. 16.6) shows a footnote whose first line is not indented. Can you please tell me what is correct format for this issue? Answer »
Q. To emphasize a word in the narrative (not dialog), is it acceptable to use italics or should I use “quotation marks”? Also, can a question mark and an exclamation point be combined (?!) to emphasize the question, i.e., “Are you calling me a liar?!” Thanks! Answer »
Q. What is the rule about using quotation marks to signal an unusual use of a word? I’m editing a writer who employs this device overmuch, it seems to me. But I don’t want to be a fuddy-duddy. Any advice? Answer »
Q. Although periods go inside quotation marks in text, is it acceptable to put the period outside the quote when the quote is part of a string of computer code? Following the rule for text would distort the string of code, causing confusion. Example: Include the type identifier: type=“text/JavaScript”. Answer »
Q. In typing a single quotation mark within a double quotation mark, does one add a space for clarity, as in “ ‘, or are they printed without a space, as in “‘? Answer »
Q. I know the period or comma goes inside both single and double quotation marks, but is an apostrophe treated the same as a single quotation mark, or does it stay with its word? For example: “That ain’t nothin’,” Joe replied. Answer »
Q. Are the commas in the following placed correctly? (The sentence cannot be recast.) “She took a workshop titled, ‘Writer’s Workshop,’ several years ago.” Thank you. Answer »
Q. With the author-date system, I know that punctuation is supposed to follow the reference—for example, “And his other misfortune” (Brown 2001, 1a). But does this still hold true for questions? It just plain looks wrong to me. For example: Answer »
Q. This may be impossible to answer, but I feel it’s important, so I’m gonna give it my best shot. This is how I would punctuate the following: Answer »
Q. Realizing that every style guide I have read states that periods always go inside quotation marks, I argue that, if a quote is only a part of a sentence, the period at the end applies to the entire sentence, and not just to the quoted part; therefore, it should be placed outside the closing quotation mark. Does this reasoning “hold any water” at all? Answer »
