Punctuation Exercise (280)

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence or item in each pair.

    1.
    The fund-raising event was held in Washington D.C..
    The fund-raising event was held in Washington D.C.

    2.
    We have plenty of fruit (apples, oranges, etc).
    We have plenty of fruit (apples, oranges, etc.).

    3.
    I never miss the scintillating articles about language at www.dailywritingtips.com
    I never miss the scintillating articles about language at www.dailywritingtips.com.

    4.
    Lewis, C. S.. The Allegory of Love. Oxford: Galaxy, 1958.
    Lewis, C. S. The Allegory of Love. Oxford: Galaxy, 1958.

    5.
    What does Wordsworth mean when he says, "The father is child of the man?"
    What does Wordsworth mean when he says, "The father is child of the man"?

Answers and Explanations

1. The fund-raising event was held in Washington D.C.
Even though the abbreviation comes at the end of the sentence, only one period is ever needed at the end of a sentence.

2. We have plenty of fruit (apples, oranges, etc.).
An abbreviation inside parentheses requires a period.

3. I never miss the scintillating articles about language at www.dailywritingtips.com.
When I was new to URL notation, I often failed to reach my Web destination because I mistakenly included a period at the end of the URL. In time I learned that the period is not part of the address. Every Web user must eventually come to this realization because every sentence needs a period (or other end punctuation). Sentences that end with a URL are no exception.

4. Lewis, C. S. The Allegory of Love. Oxford: Galaxy, 1958.
When the author’s name in a bibliography entry ends with an initial, one period is sufficient.

5. What does Wordsworth mean when he says, "The father is child of the man"?
The quoted sentence is not a question, so the question mark that ends the sentence goes outside the quotation marks.

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