In American English, periods and question marks in dialogue are generally placed inside the closing quotation marks if they are part of the quoted material. Here’s a breakdown of the rules:
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If the punctuation is part of the quoted material: Place the punctuation inside the closing quotation marks.
- Example: She said, "I'll meet you at 5 o'clock."
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If the punctuation is not part of the quoted material (such as an overall question): Place the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks.
- Example: Did she really say, "I'll meet you at 5 o'clock"?
So, to answer your question:
- If the question mark is part of the dialogue: It goes inside.
- If the question mark refers to the entire sentence: It goes outside.
The options you provided can be summarized as:
- A: Inside the closing quotation mark (if the quoted text includes the question mark).
- B: Outside the opening quotation marks (not applicable for periods or question marks).
- C: Outside the closing quotation marks (if the question mark is for the whole sentence, but typically the period remains inside unless it's part of the sentence).
Therefore, the most accurate choice regarding the placement of periods and question marks in dialogue would be:
- Place them inside the closing quotation mark if they are part of the quoted speech.