Forum: english.stackexchange.com
Tags: <punctuation><quotation-marks><period>
Title: Is it ever acceptable for a period to come after a quote at the end of a sentence?
Question: Possible Duplicate:  Is it correct to use “punctuation outside of the quotations”, or “inside?”     I've heard that you should always place ending punctuation inside of quotes, no matter what.    Are there any cases where it is appropriate for a sentence to end with  ". ?

Answers:
sents: text: Punctuation inside quotes is a rule that was invented by American publishers and is not necessarily followed elsewhere.
text: The original reason had to do with typesetting mechanics and is obsolete.
text: Also, if you're preparing technical texts such as about computer programming, this can result in technically incorrect material.
text: In practice, you are at the mercy of whoever is editing or grading your material.
text: But to answer your question, it can certainly be "acceptable" in many parts.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/21/Peter Eisentraut
score: 30
sents: text: Yes.
text: See the Economist style guide : If the quotation does not include any punctuation, the closing inverted commas should precede any punctuation marks that the sentence requires.
text: More at the Guardian style guide .
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/46/markdrayton
score: 20
sents: text: Actually, Wikipedia seems to give a good answer to this.
text: I think it can be summarized as "most people just make it up as they go."
text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotation_marks#Typographical_considerations If you're an American, periods or commas almost always go inside the quotation marks.
text: If you're British, periods and commas only go inside if they're part of the actual quote.
text: Unless you're a journalist, or publishing fiction.
text: Then you do it the American way!
text: I really don't consider one way more correct than another.
text: I guess it just depends on what your audience expects.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/23/kitukwfyer
score: 12
sents: text: The only thing that goes inside quotation marks is the quotation.
text: If the quotation contains punctuation, the punctuation should be included inside the quotation marks.
text: If not, the punctuation is perfectly fine outside the quotation marks.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/8258/Eric King
score: 7
sents: text: The answer I remember for British English is If the quoted material forms a complete sentence (even if it's broken out of), even if it is not a complete sentence in the original source, and there is a punctuation mark before the opening quote, then the full stop should go inside.
text: "I think", he said "that would be a good idea."
text: The full quote forms a complete sentence and starts with a capital letter, even though it's broken out of to interject
text: the he said .
text: I think there were even more subtleties in the article in The Right Word at the Right Time .
text: (It's a rather excellent Readers Digest book.)
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/1696/TRiG
score: 1
sents: text: I was taught that if the quote has more than one sentence, then you do it like this, with a period in and a period out: Statement:
text: I once heard a quote that said "Stop.
text: You can't go.
text: If you go, you can't stop.
text: If you stop, you can't go.".
text: Question: Is there a quote that says "Stop.
text: You can't go.
text: If you go, you can't stop.
text: If you stop, you can't go."?
text: That isn't a real quote, by the way.
text: If it only has a phrase, or if it only has one sentence, then you do it like this:
text: Statement:
text: John said "Get out of here".
text: Question:
text: Did John say "Get out of here"?
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/62/Arlen Beiler
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
It is generally agreed that the answer to this question will depend on regional variations. Keeping the period inside quote is an American trend and not necessarily followed elsewhere. As a result, there are parts of the world where it is perfectly acceptable to put the period after a quote. It may also depend on what your audience expects.
There is no hard and fast rule for this - do whatever makes the meaning clearer.
It is generally agreed that the answer to this question will depend on regional variations. Keeping the period inside quote is an American trend and not necessarily followed elsewhere. As a result, there are parts of the world where it is perfectly acceptable to put the period after a quote. It may also depend on what your audience expects.
Punctuation inside quotes is a rule that was invented by American publishers and is not necessarily followed elsewhere.  In British English, periods and commas only go inside if they're part of the actual quote. In British English is  If the quoted material forms a complete sentence then the full stop should go inside.   
The  Economist style guide says:  If the quotation does not include any  punctuation, the closing inverted  commas should precede any punctuation  marks that the sentence requires. If you're British, periods and commas only go inside if they're part of the actual quote. Punctuation inside quotes is a rule invented by American publishers and is not necessarily followed elsewhere.  
Yes, in certain parts of the world, apart from America, it is acceptable to put punctuation marks outside of quotation marks. The general rule appears to be that if the quote includes punctuation, the punctuation should stay inside the quotation marks, whereas if it doesn't, any necessary punctuation should remain outside of the quotation marks.