Quotation Marks...What's Right?

here's something most people don't know: you can put the periods and commas INSIDE the quotation marks, regardless of logic (that is, regardless of whether the period/ comma was actually part of the quoted idea). it depends on whether you're following BRITISH standards or AMERICAN standards. although the quotation marks are supposed to enclose an idea and the period/ comma may not be a part of that idea, it is still ACCEPTABLE to include the period or comma inside the quote when you are following the AMERICAN style of writing. here's how the british and american standards apply to your sentences: the man called himself a "winner." (american style: the period is inside the quote) the man called himself a "winner". (british style: the period is outside the quote) now, when it comes to exclamation points and question marks, their placement will depend on the LOGIC of the sentence, regardless of whether you are using British or American standards. to apply that rule to your sentences: the man called himself a "winner"! (this means the exclamation is expressed by the narrator, not the man. this applies to BOTH american and british styles.) the man called himself a "winner!" (this means the exclamation is expressed by the man. again, this applies to both american & british styles.) again, to apply this theory to your next set of sentences: the man was the first one there, but was he really the "winner"? (this is the accepted quotation in BOTH styles, as the question mark is NOT part of the quoted idea) she asked, "is the man the winner?" (this is the accepted quotation in BOTH styles as the question mark is part of the quoted idea) to recap: periods & commas MAY be included inside the quotation marks (especially in American writing). but when it comes to question marks and exclamation points, it will always DEPEND on the message of the sentence, regardless of whether you are writing with american or british standards. both styles (american & british) are acceptable as of this time. ^_^

The corrections Spoiledbrat gave you are all correct, except for the last. You do not put a question mark and then a period. Less punctuation is the norm these days. That is, the fewer commas the better. So putting two punctuation marks at the end of a sentence makes no sense. It should read: She asked, "Is the man the winner?" No period after the quotation marks. In the case of the exclamation point it really looks out of place in that sentence. The man called himself "the winner". Is enough. In some cases you may not even want to use quotation marks but rather italics. The man called himself the winner. In the case of dialogue, punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. If you want to stress the winner like I did in the last example by using quotation marks or italics, the other option is to use single quotation marks (which is actually apostrophes). The man called himself 'the winner'. If you are submitting for publication you should do the best you can with your punctuation. If the story/article is good, the editor will correct the punctuation... at least he/she should.

As I recall, the quotation marks come after the punctuation marks at the end of the sentence. And the first letter is capitalized only when it it the first word of a sentence or a proper noun.

Since you are not quoting a sentence the period should go after the quotation. If you are quoting a complete sentence then,yes, the first letter should be capitalized.

The first three do not call for quotes all together. Those sentences are complete without them and although you may wish to emphasize a finger quote if you were speaking sarcastically, that really is not appropriate in writing (unless it's a play manuscript). The last one is correct, --She asked, "Is the man the winner?"--