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Exclamation Points with Quotation Marks

How do you punctuate if something in quotes ends in a necessary exclamation point or question mark but the sentence continues?

The Chicago Manual of Style offers this example:

Tichnick’s angry reply, “I do not know the man!” took us all by surprise.

Note the comma after reply but no comma after the exclamation point.

Posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

Compel vs. Impel

Both compel and impel contain the idea of using physical or other force to cause something to be done.

Compel means to constrain someone in some way to yield or do what one wishes.

Example: to compel a debtor to pay
Example: Fate compels us to face danger and trouble.

Impel means to provide a strong motive or incentive toward a certain end.

Example: The wind impelled the ship.
Example: Curiosity impels her to ask questions.

It might help, in some instances, to think of impel as the carrot and compel as the stick.

Posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 12:31 am

Ring vs. Rang vs. Rung

You can tell when to use ring, rang, or rung by whether you need the present, past, or past participle (used with has or have) form.

Present: ring

Example: I always ring the bell after I knock.
Example: He rings twice before entering.

Past: rang

Example: I rang the bell after I knocked.
Example: He rang twice before entering.

Past Participle: has or have rung

Past participles are used with all perfect forms of a verb.

Present Perfect Form

Examples: I have rung the bell. She has rung the bell.

Past Perfect Form

Examples: I had rung the bell. She had rung the bell.

Future Perfect Form

Example: I will have rung the bell by noon if the automated system is still malfunctioning.

Conditional Perfect Form

Example: I would have rung the bell if the automated system had still been malfunctioning.

The present participle of ring is ringing. Present participles are used with “to be” verbs.

Examples: I am ringing the bell. She was ringing the bell. We will be ringing the bell.

 

Pop Quiz

1. He rings/rangs/rungs the bell to get the students’ attention.

2. We ring/rang/rung the bell but no one answered the door.

3. She had ringed/rang/rung the bell three times before I was near enough to hear it.

4. They are ringing/ranging/runging the bell to start trading in the stock market.

 

Answers

1. He rings the bell to get the students’ attention.

2. We rang the bell but no one answered the door.

3. She had rung the bell three times before I was near enough to hear it.

4. They are ringing the bell to start trading in the stock market.

Posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 4:55 am

Internal Dialogue: Italics or Quotes?

Internal dialogue is used by authors to indicate what a character is thinking to himself/herself.

Direct internal dialogue refers to a character thinking the exact thoughts as written, often in the first person (I).

Example: “I lied,” Charles thought, “but maybe she will forgive me.”

Notice that quotation marks and other punctuation are used in the same way as if the character had spoken aloud.

You may also use italics without quotation marks for direct internal dialogue.

Example: I lied, Charles thought, but maybe she will forgive me.

Indirect internal dialogue refers to a character expressing a thought in third person and is not set off with either italics or quotation marks.

Example: Bev wondered why Charles would think that she would forgive him so easily.

The words she would tell us that she did not think these exact words.

Posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 4:47 am