How do you punctuate a quote at the end of a sentence?

Proper Punctuation – Quotes

If you start by telling who said it, use a comma and then the first quotation mark.
If you put the quote first and then tell who said it, use a comma at the end of the sentence, and then the second quotation mark.
Punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks if it is a direct quote.

Do you put a period at the end of a quoted question?

When a quotation ending in a question mark or exclamation point ends a sentence, no extra period is needed. When multiple quotation marks are used for quotations within quotations, keep the quotation marks together (put periods and commas inside both; put semi-colons, colons, etc., outside both).

How do you separate a quote with a comma?

RULE 1: In the American system, periods and commas always go inside quotation marks (i.e., single AND double). Thus, sentences 1, 2, and 3 should look like this: The suspect told the arresting officer, “I was nowhere near the crime.”

What is a divided quotation?

In a divided quotation, only place quotation marks around the words that are part of the quotation. Use commas to set off the explanatory words. If the divided quotation consists of separate sentences, however, then place end punctuation after the explanatory words and capitalize the first word of the second quotation.

Which comes first or period?

If that apostrophe were a single quotation mark, the period would come before it. That’s the rule in American English: the period or comma always comes before the closing double or single quotation mark: He used the word “stewardess.” She said, “When you call me ‘stewardess,’ it sounds old-fashioned.”

What is a speaker tag in writing?

The speaker tag, which in its most basic form consists of the speaker’s name and a speech-related verb (said, shouted, asked, etc.), is often the simplest way of indicating which character is speaking. Example: “I told you not to throw that cat at me,” Mike said.