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- More End Punctuation -
One place to be careful with question marks is at the end of a quotation:
"Did you know that when Ganga fell from heaven, she was caught and gently set down by the braids of Lord Siva's matted hair?," asked Mr. Lobo.
In a quote, if we follow a question mark with a comma or a period, we only distract the reader. Two correct versions follow:
"Did you know that when Ganga fell from heaven, she was caught and gently set down by the braids of Lord Siva's matted hair?" asked Mr. Lobo.
Mr. Lobo asked, "Did you know that when Ganga fell from heaven, she was caught and gently set down by the braids of Lord Siva's matted hair?"
Another place to be careful with question marks is at the end of a polite request:
Would you please continue, Mr. Lobo?
For such a polite request, we can end with a period, or we could write it other ways:
Would you please continue, Mr. Lobo.
Please continue, Mr. Lobo.
With exclamation points, be careful to avoid overusing them as in the following example:
Ganga grew fond of King Bhagirathi! She descended from heaven and approached him!
"You are a vision!" exclaimed the king.
Too many exclamation points distract the reader. Use them sparingly, and only when strong emotions are involved:
Ganga grew fond of King Bhagirathi. She descended from heaven and approached him.
"You are a vision!" exclaimed the king.
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