Writing & Grammar: British versus American Punctuation

by Jennie Ruby 

 

Single quotes are used in American English (according to publication style guides) to indicate one thing, and one thing, only: A quotation within a quotation.

The lecturer told us, "John F. Kennedy once said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'"

Small punctuation marks–the period or comma–are placed inside of any and all of the quotation marks. Questions and exclamation points go on the inside of the quote they pertain to.

In British publications, single quotes are used to introduce new terms that are being defined a certain way. In American style guides, we are advised to use double quotes or italics to introduce terms.

• American: A "relational" database consists of multiple tables.
• American: A relational database consists of multiple tables.
• British: A 'relational' database consists of multiple tables.

Take a look at these examples, and give them the correct and American punctuation. (British and international readers–feel free to give them the appropriate treatment for your writing.)

1. In a 'client-side' application, the accessing computer does the calculations.
2. The instructor said; "As Laura LeMay stated in the assigned reading, "For more control over your sounds, you'll need different software".
3. Her boyfriend said, "The top song on my favorite radio channel says, 'You are perfect in my mind", and I think it is talking about you."!
4. "The 'Wicked Ale effect'", according to my colleague, "Is a marketing technique for covering several media at the same time".
5. A picture placed directly in the text, rather than floating, is called an "in-line" graphic.

As always, please post your answers below.

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Answers to the British versus American English spelling challenge are brought to you by Susan Czubiak.  Other correct answers came in from Deb Gilchrist, Karyn R. Smith, David Zimmerle, Barbara Kennedy, Geri Moran, Nichole Gladky, Lisa J. Stumpf, and Vera Sytch (in no particular order). Also, I received a couple of responses where I could not discern the choices (color coding or highlighting may not have come through), so I apologize if yours were correct and I have not given you the credit you are due. Please let me know, and send your answers again in a different format.

1. Colour / color
2. Gray / grey
3. Analyse / analyze
4. Toward / towards
5. Got / gotten (as in "They have not yet got / gotten their tickets.")
6. Among / amongst
7. While / whilst
8. Encyclopaedia / encyclopedia
9. Defence / defense
10. Offence / offense
11. Pretence / pretense