'Nother punctuation question, please

[TarnishedPenny]

OK, a female protagonist is taking off her clothes to amuse her new boyfriend. She tosses one garment into the breeze. Should it be:

I opened my hands with a loud, “Wheeee!” ​

or​

I opened my hands with a loud 'Wheeee!' ​

If she were quoting somebody, the first would seem indicated. In this case, I'm not sure. Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[AlphaLyon]

My gut reaction says the second one, as it is a vocal descriptor and not a verbalization.

 

[SimonDoom]

No comma is needed in this context.

A comma would be appropriate if the quoted text were preceded by "said" or "asked" or something like that. But you don't have anything like that here. There's no need for a comma.

If you are following American conventions, you should use double rather than single quotation marks. I assume your character is saying "Wheeeh" while opening her hands.

See Chicago Manual of Style 3.13-3.15.

 

[jaF0]

When a character is expressing their own inner thoughts like your example appears to, I use single quotes.


I'll take a brief pause on the comma comment.

 

[KeithD]

Second example and American style only uses single quotes with a quote within a quote, not for interior thoughts.

 

[jaF0]

If formatting could be relied on, I'd go with Italics ....

I opened my hands with a loud Wheeee!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Thanks, all. Much appreciated.

 

[TadOverdon]

Oooh, oooh! I got one!

In this sentence, should any of the identifiers be capitalized as proper nouns or titles?

During his abbreviated college career, he'd had sexual affairs with a forty-something psychology professor, an ancient history lecturer, and two comp sci instructors.

Googling this kind of thing goes both ways - unlike spelling, where popular vote seems pretty reliable.

Thanks

 

[SimonDoom]

Oooh, oooh! I got one!

In this sentence, should any of the identifiers be capitalized as proper nouns or titles?

During his abbreviated college career, he'd had sexual affairs with a forty-something psychology professor, an ancient history lecturer, and two comp sci instructors.

Googling this kind of thing goes both ways - unlike spelling, where popular vote seems pretty reliable.

Thanks

No capitals are needed. None of these is a proper noun. They're all common nouns.

I would spell "computer science" in full, to make it parallel with "psychology" and "history," both of which you spell in full.

 

[TadOverdon]

No capitals are needed. None of these is a proper noun. They're all common nouns.

I would spell "computer science" in full, to make it parallel with "psychology" and "history," both of which you spell in full.

Thanks. I think I'll make it "psych professor," then; I'm not aware of a common abbreviation for ancient history (other than a course catalog acronym).

 

[Bramblethorn]

No capitals are needed. None of these is a proper noun. They're all common nouns.

What Simon said. But if you were to use "professor" as a title, then it would be capitalised: "Of all my professors, the tallest was Professor Higgins."

 

[SimonDoom]

What Simon said. But if you were to use "professor" as a title, then it would be capitalised: "Of all my professors, the tallest was Professor Higgins."

Right. You know where I get this one screwed up all the time, out of carelessness? The use of "mom" and "dad."

As with the word "professor," "mom" is ordinarily a common noun that is not capitalized, but it IS capitalized when used to address someone or as a substitute for the name.

Examples:

My mom went to the store.

His mom went to the store.

I went to the store with my mom.

My mom and my dad are funny people.

But:

I went to the store with Mom. (difference: the word "my" is missing and "Mom" is a substitute for her name.

Mom, can we go to the store? (used while addressing the mom).

Mom and Dad are funny people.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

Is this a Yanks-or-Brits thing? I've encountered some Britain-published books in which single quotes are used for speech. In the U.S., I recall seeing only double quotes for that.

 

[TadOverdon]

Okay, so is this an appropriate or confusing use of quotation marks?

"Irina, that's not the way this goes. You're supposed to say it like this: 'What? I don't understand, why would he do that? I don't know what you're talking about.' Try something like that."

 

[KeithD]

Is this a Yanks-or-Brits thing? I've encountered some Britain-published books in which single quotes are used for speech. In the U.S., I recall seeing only double quotes for that.

Yes, it's a "Yanks-Brit are different thing." American style keeps it very strict and very simple. The first level of quoting is always double quotes and the second is single quotes (if you go to a third, it's back to double quotes) (Chicago Manual of Style, 16, 13.28). Always. British style is more nuanced (and in some ways I've never been able to understand).

That said, some American publishers are going contrary to standards and using single quotes for dialogue. Readers seem to adjust to that OK, but it isn't sanctioned by any American-style authority. Just be consistent across the file.

 

[Trionyx]

I went to the store with Mom. (difference: the word "my" is missing and "Mom" is a substitute for her name.

Mom, can we go to the store? (used while addressing the mom).

Mom and Dad are funny people.

——-

Mom isn’t a substitute for her name, it IS her name in these examples and should be capitalized. Likewise, any word used as a name should also be capitalized.

Here, Honey, let me help you. (I want honey on toast.)
Hey, Asswipe, what did you do that for? (He’s such an asswipe.)
Give me a break, Dickhead. (Only a dickhead would do that.)

 

[SimonDoom]

Okay, so is this an appropriate or confusing use of quotation marks?

"Irina, that's not the way this goes. You're supposed to say it like this: 'What? I don't understand, why would he do that? I don't know what you're talking about.' Try something like that."

This is correct American style.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Is this a Yanks-or-Brits thing? I've encountered some Britain-published books in which single quotes are used for speech. In the U.S., I recall seeing only double quotes for that.

Yes.

'This is the Brit convention,' the first professor said.

"But this," added Professor Higgins, "is how we punctuate speech in American publications."

Australians see both all the time, as our print books stream in from both the UK and the US, and, not surprisingly, can manage to comprehend both styles without a fuss.

 

[SimonDoom]

I went to the store with Mom. (difference: the word "my" is missing and "Mom" is a substitute for her name.

Mom, can we go to the store? (used while addressing the mom).

Mom and Dad are funny people.

——-

Mom isn’t a substitute for her name, it IS her name in these examples and should be capitalized. Likewise, any word used as a name should also be capitalized.

Here, Honey, let me help you. (I want honey on toast.)
Hey, Asswipe, what did you do that for? (He’s such an asswipe.)
Give me a break, Dickhead. (Only a dickhead would do that.)

You're right, and these are good additional examples.

The Chicago Manual of Style, sec. 8:36, describes terms like Mom and Aunt as "kinship names."

The additional terms you listed are examples of nicknames, which are capitalized. CMS sec. 8.34.

 

[jsmiam]

Maybe this should be a sticky? Here’s mine, in this thread rather than a new post.

"But we call her 'Hoover'," I replied.

Hoover is in apostrophes to serve as sub-quotation of sorts. Where does the comma go?

 

[SimonDoom]

Maybe this should be a sticky? Here’s mine, in this thread rather than a new post.

"But we call her 'Hoover'," I replied.

Hoover is in apostrophes to serve as sub-quotation of sorts. Where does the comma go?

The preferred American convention is for the comma to go inside the quotation marks, whether double or single or both. Chicago Manual of Style sec. 6.9-6.10.

CMS gives this example: "Admit it," she said. "You haven't read 'The Simple Art of Murder.'"

 

[jsmiam]

The preferred American convention is for the comma to go inside the quotation marks, whether double or single or both. Chicago Manual of Style sec. 6.9-6.10.

CMS gives this example: "Admit it," she said. "You haven't read 'The Simple Art of Murder.'"

Got it, thanks!