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Punctuating quotes

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Clever username, Mar 2, 2007.

  1. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    I understand the beating, but I'm comfortable saying I've seen exceptions I have no problem with. I have trouble believing all rules have no exceptions.

    And you can paraphrase me on that.
     
  2. imjustagirl2

    imjustagirl2 New Member

    OK.

    Johnny Dangerously said he has trouble believing all rules have no exceptions.
     
  3. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    Shorter, reads better, and just as accurate. ;)
     
  4. imjustagirl2

    imjustagirl2 New Member

    Unless you don't really believe that. In which case, I'm printing falsities in my paper.
     
  5. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    Don't get me wrong. I agree with this thinking 90 percent of the time.

    In the case of the team that (said it) thought it was going to have an easy game, I think it takes one hell of an imagination to think a team that thought it would have an easy game -- and didn't -- actually thought it would have a close game, but said otherwise.
     
  6. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    This is the issue that gets me the most riled up at the AP, because they screw it up EVERY time.

    I know it's nit-picky, but the end of a quote within a quote should have the single apostrophe BEFORE the double.

    "Coach told me, 'Pick up the slack.'"

    AP ALWAYS: "Coach told me, 'Pick up the slack."'

    Stupid, stupid, stupid. /soapbox
     
  7. imjustagirl2

    imjustagirl2 New Member

    I've never seen that in an AP story. I just pop in a half-space between the single and double quotes, and they're always in the right order.
     
  8. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Crippler is right, the AP stories always have that in there. It used to drive me insane when I laid out pages. You always had to fix that shit and it was just one more thing you had to look for.
     
  9. "I think we thought, 'Oh yeah, this is going to be a walk in the park.'"

    That's how it should read. I don't know (care) about AP style. That's correct.
     
  10. Clever username

    Clever username Active Member

    There was more to the quote that I didn't include here. It's much less of a cliche with the rest of it, that's why I didn't paraphrase.
     
  11. OK, copy editors, just for fun, take this one more step:

    How about if the person didn't say the "Oh, yeah," part and the quote was like this:

    "I think we thought, this is going to be a walk in the park."

    Same punctuation? I'd think so, but maybe not.

    This isn't exactly like the person is quoting someone else -- or anyone else, for that matter. He was quoting a person saying what he thought people were thinking. Maybe they weren't thinking that. Maybe nobody was. What do you think?
     
  12. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    yup, same punctuation as the first.
     
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