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Grammar Central > Punctuating Capn' with a comma

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message 1: by Melinda (new)

Melinda Brasher | 30 comments Does anyone know if I'm punctuating this right?

Sergeant Blake trembled. "Capn', I didn't do nuthin'."

It looks weird to put the comma and period outside the apostrophe, but it would be illogical to put it inside. This is dialog in fiction, obviously.

Thanks for any insights!


message 2: by Gabi (last edited Jul 11, 2014 12:56AM) (new)

Gabi Fuller (CountryMouseMe) | 474 comments Cap'n is Ok by me. A shortened word or words such as do not = don't, not dont'; or have I bypassed some new rules. Again.

As far as I know the apostophe is placed where the letters are missing. Cap[tai]n = Cap[']n

The the placement of the apostrophe in the word nuthin' is correct as the apostrophe replaces the missing letter g.

I'm going cross-eyed, here!


message 3: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
Yes, as the apostrophe is part of the word, it goes inside the period or comma which, in the States, goes inside the quotation mark. You do the hokey-pokey and you turn it all around, that's what it's all about!


message 4: by Melinda (new)

Melinda Brasher | 30 comments Gabi, Oh my gosh, of course it would be Cap'n, not Capn'. Thanks for catching that. I was critiquing someone else's work and obviously didn't do it well enough. :) Newengland, thanks for your corroboration. The work I'm critiquing is actually sort of British, but has so far kept with American punctuation with regards to the period/comma inside the quotation.


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