Grammar Tips & Articles »

Semicolons with Quotation Marks

This Grammar.com article is about Semicolons with Quotation Marks — enjoy your reading!


22 sec read
49,314 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

Semicolon Comes Outside

The semicolon should be placed outside ending quotation marks. When the quoted matter ends with a semicolon, the semicolon in the quotation is dropped:

The agency reviewed those petitions that were "timely"; it ignored those that were late.

The agency approved those agreements "having no significant impact on competition"; it refused to enforce those violating the antitrust laws.

 

Previous: Semicolons Separating Elements in a Series

Next: Chapter 4 - Colon

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

1 Comment
  • Arnold Silveri
    Arnold Silveri
    Does the semicolon go inside Quotation marks when listing book titles?
    LikeReply 14 years ago
    • John Conn
      John Conn
      Hi Arnold, good question; there's always some exceptions, huh! From what I have seen, "colons and semicolons always go outside closing quotation marks"; however, it is a more common practice to use italics for book titles, if that can ease the dilemma!

      Hope this helps. Best regards.
       
      LikeReply 14 years ago
    • Anthony Simard
      Anthony Simard
      John Conn I confirm. Grammarly informs that a colon or a semicolon are outside quotation marks while a period or a comma are inside. Italicising always depends on the methodology you are using. MLA, for instance, would indeed italicise longer works, whereas quotation marks would be used for shorter works. 
      LikeReply4 years ago

Citation

Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Semicolons with Quotation Marks." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Dec. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/semicolons-with-quotation-marks>.

Free, no signup required:

Add to Chrome

Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

Free, no signup required:

Add to Firefox

Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

Free Writing Tool:

Instant
Grammar Checker

Improve your grammar, vocabulary, style, and writing — all for FREE!


Quiz

Are you a grammar master?

»
Choose the sentence with correct use of the past perfect tense:
A We had saw that movie three times.
B He had did his best, but it wasn't enough.
C She had went to the store before dinner.
D They had already finished their homework when the phone rang.

Improve your writing now:

Download Grammar eBooks

It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.