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Quick Stupid English Grammar Question

L Ron HowardL Ron Howard Registered User regular
in Help / Advice Forum
This is really stupid, but between a friend and myself, we're trying to figure out the best way to state this incorrect sentence:
"why's that, I asked"
The best way would be to make it: "Why's that? I asked."
But, if, for whatever reason, the person wanted to leave it as a single sentence, would it be "why's that, I asked?" or "why's that, I asked."?

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Posts

  • DeebaserDeebaser Way out in the water See it swimmin'?Registered User regular
    "Why's that?", I asked.

    #FreeThan
    #FreeScheck
    #FreeSKFM
    • Agree Awesome
  • EncEnc FloridaRegistered User regular
    "Why's that?" I asked.

    Depending on your context the comma is unnecessary.

    "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
    — Robert Heinlein
    CowShark
    • 1Agree Awesome
  • CowSharkCowShark Registered User regular
    Don't put a comma after closing the quotation marks.

    • Agree Awesome
  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    Enc wrote: »
    "Why's that?" I asked.

    Depending on your context the comma is unnecessary.

    Third'd. The quote is a question, and gets the mark; while the fact you asked is a statement, which gets a period.

    Ruckus on
    Raneados wrote: »
    so what SPECIFICALLY is the problem with my hole?
    • Agree Awesome
  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    Deebaser wrote: »
    "Why's that?", I asked.
    Assuming you're American, this really couldn't be any wronger.

    American English you never, ever put a period or comma after the quote. Ever. Always goes inside.

    Otherwise, it can cause problems with your 100-year-old printing press.

    Enc is correct, it should be:

    "Why's that?" I asked.

    • Agree Awesome
  • XobyteXobyte Registered User regular
    I read about a year ago that the rules for commas/periods inside or outside of quotes is currently in flux.

    • Agree Awesome
  • WaldoWaldo Registered User regular
    Xobyte wrote: »
    I read about a year ago that the rules for commas/periods inside or outside of quotes is currently in flux.

    Isn't it all just which prescriptive grammar rules (e.g. Strunk & White) you choose to adhere to for minor stuff like this?

    Senjutsu wrote: »
    when I was younger I had a drinking problem

    now I just have drinking solutions
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/weeman3
    • Agree Awesome
  • EncEnc FloridaRegistered User regular
    Xobyte wrote: »
    I read about a year ago that the rules for commas/periods inside or outside of quotes is currently in flux.

    If by "in flux" you mean "in a perpetual gridlock" you would be correct. Folk have spoken about reforming American grammar since such a thing came to be. The rules are only getting more solid as technology and literacy levels skyrocket.

    "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
    — Robert Heinlein
    • Agree Awesome
  • metaghostmetaghost Registered User regular
    Xobyte wrote: »
    I read about a year ago that the rules for commas/periods inside or outside of quotes is currently in flux.

    This is what the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition) has to say:
    Chicago Manual of Style, 6.8 wrote:
    "Periods and commas precede closing quotation marks, whether double or single. This is a traditional style.... In the kind of textual studies where retaining the original placement of a comma in relation to closing quotation marks is essential... the alternative system described in 6.10 could be used, or rephrasing might avoid the problem."

    The alternative system is described as:
    Chicago Manual of Style, 6.10 wrote:
    "According to what is sometimes called the British style, a style also followed in other English-speaking countries, only those punctuation points that appeared in the original material should be included within the quotation marks; all others follow the quotation marks. This system, which requires extreme authorial precision and occasion decisions by the editor or typesetter, works best with single quotation marks."

    Twitter / Music Reviews & Mixtapes — Plenty of Swords
    • Agree Awesome
  • wonderpugwonderpug Registered User regular
    While the inside/outside aspect has changed over time, isn't it still the rule that there should be just one punctuation mark? The question mark would be used in place of a comma, and the debate is just whether the question mark should appear before or after the closing quotation mark?

    • Agree Awesome
  • LilnoobsLilnoobs Alpha Queue Registered User regular
    Enc wrote: »
    Xobyte wrote: »
    I read about a year ago that the rules for commas/periods inside or outside of quotes is currently in flux.

    If by "in flux" you mean "in a perpetual gridlock" you would be correct. Folk have spoken about reforming American grammar since such a thing came to be. The rules are only getting more solid as technology and literacy levels skyrocket.

    Sarcasm?

    Because this is not what I've experienced at all. If anything people are moving away from the punctuation inside the quotation mark, British Style because (like the metric system) it just makes more sense.

    • Agree Awesome
  • EncEnc FloridaRegistered User regular
    People using it "incorrectly" isn't changing the fact that educators are more fervent than ever about clinging to archaic structures, and the increase in general literacy and availability is making it harder for change to occur in the language because so much information/technology is constantly reinforcing the standard norms willfully or otherwise. Spellcheck and grammar check, for instance. Almost all devices and programs will autocorrect to the American standard, reinforcing the existing paradigms.

    I'm not saying it's right or correct, but I am saying it is nearly impossible for language to evolve how it traditionally has done when so much of the technology we rely upon to convey it is constantly checking and correcting deviations.

    Enc on
    "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
    — Robert Heinlein
    • Agree Awesome
  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard Registered User regular
    Christ I hate this language many times.
    Thanks all for the answers.

    steam_sig.png
    • Agree Awesome
  • BagginsesBagginses __BANNED USERS regular
    "'Why's that,' I asked."

    • Agree Awesome
  • bowenbowen Registered User regular
    Yeah I'd have to say the most correct is probably: "Why's that," I asked. I personally prefer: "Why's that?" I asked.

    • Agree Awesome
  • badpoetbadpoet Registered User regular
    "Why's that?" I asked.

    The comma is unnecessary in this context because there is already a pause with the question mark.

    Or you could go with: I asked, "why's that?"

    badpoet on
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/badpoet
    • Agree Awesome
  • wonderpugwonderpug Registered User regular
    I asked, "Why's that?"

    • Agree Awesome
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