Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

by Benjamin Dreyer

The Brits often set periods or commas outside closing quote marks. U.K.: When it comes to Beatles songs, Queen Elizabeth is particularly fond of ‘Eleanor Rigby’, but her absolute favourite is ‘Drive My Car’. U.S.: When it comes to Beatles songs, Queen Elizabeth is particularly fond of “Eleanor Rigby,” but her absolute favorite is “Drive My Car.” If there’s anything that Brits despise about American punctuation, it’s this. “The song title does not contain a comma or a period,” they’ll growl. “Why are you sticking it inside the quotation marks?” For some reason, “It’s the American way” does not satisfy them. But it is the American way, and though I do see the logic of the Brit methodology, I’m certainly not going to be the person who attempts to upend universal stateside practice. Moreover, I find the sight of those periods and commas hanging outside quotation marks saddening. To me they look lonely and unloved.