Quotation marks are always used as a pair – at the beginning and at the end of a quoted statement. When the quoted statement is a complete sentence, we need to use end punctuation to finish the sentence. Be sure to always place the end punctuation inside the ending quotation mark.
Here is an example of a sentence within a quotation:
Mom said, “Meet me at the car in five minutes.”
Notice that the period at the end of the sentence is placed inside the quotation mark.
The same thing happens with other end punctuation.
“Are you ready?” Mom asked.
Jenny exclaimed, “Look at the big alligator!”
In each sentence, the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence must lie inside the end quotation mark.
Place end punctuation inside the quotation marks when writing a sentence with a quote.
It’s your turn. Put a period into this sentence: The teacher said, “There is no homework tonight” Did you place it after the last word but before the last quotation mark? Good for you!