I don't know how to position colons and quotation marks. Which of the following is correct? I would appreciate it if you could also indicate the source I can refer to. ************ 【Form A】 Definition of "green-eyed monster": a feeling of jealous envy (es (2024)

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@first_comes_rock
@Alanaa_ is correct, Form A is the proper punctuation.

The general rule in American English style is that commas and periods always go inside quotation marks.
(In British English style, commas are sometimes placed outside quotation marks if it makes more sense.)

All other forms of punctuation, such as question marks, *colons,* semicolons, and exclamation points, should be outside the quotation marks, unless they were contained in the original quotation.

Here is a site that explains it simply, with clear examples:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punc...

Most of the sites I checked didn't have very clear examples. But this grammar series by Purdue University is very good, they usually have straightforward information on writing styles.

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Form A is correct!

This is debatable. Usually any punctuation that comes at the end of a quotation goes right before the last quotation mark, like this:

“I’m doing fine,” she said. “I don’t need any help.”

But since you are using a colon, and the quotation ‘green-eyed monster’ is not a complete sentence, I really don’t think there is a right or wrong place to put it. To me, Form A looks more correct, but the difference is negligible.

Is this for school or an English class? If not, don’t even worry about it. Most native English speakers don’t even know how to answer this so they certainly won’t notice the difference.

@first_comes_rock
@Alanaa_ is correct, Form A is the proper punctuation.

The general rule in American English style is that commas and periods always go inside quotation marks.
(In British English style, commas are sometimes placed outside quotation marks if it makes more sense.)

All other forms of punctuation, such as question marks, *colons,* semicolons, and exclamation points, should be outside the quotation marks, unless they were contained in the original quotation.

Here is a site that explains it simply, with clear examples:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punc...

Most of the sites I checked didn't have very clear examples. But this grammar series by Purdue University is very good, they usually have straightforward information on writing styles.

Form A is correct. The rule is pretty clear. If the punctuation is a part of the original quote, it goes inside the apostrophes. If the punctuation is not part of the quote, put the punctuation outside of the quote at the end of the clause or sentence.
Can someone please define "green-eyed monster"? (question mark outside of the apostrophes because the sentence is a question, which also happens to contain a quote)
He asked "What does 'green-eyed monster' mean?". (question mark goes inside the apostrophes, because it is part of the quote, and period goes outside because it ends the regular sentence.
Definition of "green-eyed monster": a feeling of jealous envy (a colon is used to connect two clauses, one of which contains a quote)
Definition of "green-eyed monster:" a feeling of jealous envy (you are asking for the definition of "green-eyed monster colon". The phrase "green-eyed monster colon" does not exist.)
“I’m doing fine", she said. (The comma goes outside of the apostrophes because it is not part of the original quote. She didn't say, "I'm doing fine comma".)
Other punctuation is within the apostrophes if it was part of the original quote.
"Are you doing OK?", she asked. (original question mark is included within the apostrophes)
"I told you, I'm doing fine!", he exclaimed. (original comma and exclamation mark are included within the apostrophes)

@MetRon
Everything looks good in your comment except for this part about commas:

“I’m doing fine", she said. (The comma goes outside of the apostrophes because it is not part of the original quote. She didn't say, "I'm doing fine comma".)

This is apparently incorrect in America English punctuation. The comma goes inside the quotation marks, especially with dialogue, and would be written as:
“I’m doing fine," she said.
Covered in the first example here:
https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/quotation-m...

In British English style they do put the comma outside, but they would also use single rather than double quotation marks.
(There's a "See here" link in the first paragraph from the same site for the British style.)

@first_comes_rock
Thank you for the gifts!! 🙏

For Q1, you actually *omit* the comma that would normally go inside the quotation marks because of the exclamation mark.
The correct punctuation would be:

If you tell someone to "Zip it!" you want them to ＿＿.

See "In the middle of the sentence" section.
https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/exclamation....

*****************************
Not sure if you also wanted a cross check of the quiz, but just in case:
Q1. C
Q2. E
Q3. F

@first_comes_rock
You're very welcome and thank you again 〜
Your quizzes are really well done so I'm glad people are enjoying them!