Placing quotation marks

Question

I am stymied about the placement of quotation marks in Spanish. Do they follow the same rules as English?

¿Contestaste la "Pregunta del Día?"

      or

¿Contestaste la "Pregunta del Día"?

I realize that's not a good example, but when I need one, I can never think of one.

I think they go inside the quotation marks. - ian-hill, Jun 7, 2010

Thanks, Ian. As I told Marianne, I can never find things that I "think" that I have read in the past. lol - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010

Please see my post below: the RAE says that in Spanish the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks - --Mariana--, Jun 7, 2010

Answer 1

I got this explanation:

The main difference from American English is that added punctuation in Spanish goes outside the quote marks, while in American English it goes inside the quote marks.

And the RAE is using punctuation outside the quotation marks. I guess that's the official answer.

You and I must be attuned to the same wavelength. - 0074b507, Jun 7, 2010

Marianne, eres ¡"fantástica"! Gracias, amiga. - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010

Answer 2

This is a tough question and one I've often wondered about.

I always put the period, comma, question mark inside the quotation marks. Here's the rule:

In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic.

In the United Kingdom, Canada, and islands under the influence of British education, punctuation around quotation marks is more apt to follow logic. In American style, then, you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design." But in England you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design".

Let me look online more and see if I can find out what to do in Spanish.

It seems that somewhere (in the somewhat nebulous past) I read that it would be similar to the British style. But I havent been able to find that again. - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010

But Marianne in your example above there is no need for the quotation marks - they are there to highlight only. - ian-hill, Jun 7, 2010

Ian, in the U.S., poems must be italicized or put in quotation marks. :-) - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010

Then it is logical to put the point (full stop) outside the quotation mark - signifying the end of the sentence. - ian-hill, Jun 7, 2010

Ian, not in the U.S. We put the period inside the quotation mark. - --Mariana--, Jun 7, 2010

So you end the sentence before the final quotation mark ???!!"! - ian-hill, Jun 7, 2010

Answer 3

The main difference from American English is that added punctuation in Spanish goes outside the quote marks, while in American English it goes inside the quote marks.

Spanish quotation marks

I have always regretted that this site's editor uses a "greater than" sign for quotations. It prevents you from using comillas angulares which I wanted to become accustomed to. It also won't allow you to use dashes according to Spanish usage for dialogs.

Yep, we're on the same page. :-) - --Mariana--, Jun 7, 2010

Hola, Q. Thanks for the link. - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010

Answer 4

About a half-century ago, I was taught that quotes go inside quotation marks. That if a question or exclamation is being quoted, then the corresponding punctuation is included within the quotation marks. And if I am asking a question, my question mark comes outside / after the close of the quote. But the opposite for a period, it always goes inside the quotation mark since it ends the sentence as well as what is being quoted.

I hope this agrees with what you are all saying because I'm serious ... that was some 50 years ago and we still used "past tense." And some things have gotten a little foggy.

Hey, I *still* use past tense. lol Gracias por tu respuesta. - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010

Thanks, I still use it, too, but it has a new name! Ah, yes. - LateToDinner, Jun 7, 2010

Answer 5

Logic and common sense would dictate that the punctuation should be within the quotation marks if, and only if, it is part of the quotation. Thus "What are you doing?" he asked / How does one say "He doesn't know what he is doing."? The American tradition (I've read that this had to do with the convenience of typesetters) was to always include the punctuation within the quotation. This makes no sense to me and I'm glad that the modern trend is to put the punctuation where logic (rather than convention) would dictate.

Of course, in this forum, since people rarely use any punctuation (at least in the titles of their threads), the question is somewhat irrelevant.

Answer 6

Hi Delores

Neither of your examples are correct because it should be "LA pregunta", sorry.

Oh, no! Eddy, I promise you that I know better than that! Tengo la cara muy roja. :-( - Delores--Lindsey, Jun 7, 2010