What is a ‘question’?

If it’s on yahoo.com, it’s incorrectly punctuated:

It’s well-known to readers of Terribly Write that Yahoo!’s editors and writers don’t know where to put a question mark when there’s a quotation mark nearby. It’s pretty simple: If the words inside the quotation marks are the actual question, put the question mark within the quotation marks; that is, before the closing quotation mark. Otherwise, put it after the closing quote mark.

But the geniuses could have avoided the whole issue if they realized that there’s no need for the quotation marks around Latino.

Setting an example for kids

Here’s one way to set an example for children: Just screw up some punctuation as the writers on Yahoo! Kids did:

Hey, I didn’t say you’d be setting a good example, did I? (If you really wanted to set a good example, you’d put the  question mark after the closing quotation mark.)

The real shocker

I was flipping through a slide show on Yahoo! Shine about favorite Thanksgiving fare. It wasn’t until I had seen several photos that I realized that I was looking at the favorite holiday foods of editors. Yes, and not just any editors, but editors who work for Yahoo! Shine.

I was shocked, shocked I tell you! Yahoo! Shine has editors — and not just one editor, but multiple editors. Unfortunately, none of them is competent enough to know where to place an apostrophe in a plural possessive. Here’s a hint: It goes after the S.

Is that your question?

The writer for the Yahoo! front page has a question for you. It’s “Housewives?” Yes, that is the question:

A more logical question might involve the issue of cheating on “Housewives.” But that would look like: Cheating on ‘Housewives’?

In the U.S., a comma or period goes before a closing quotation mark. But the location of a question mark depends on the context: If the words inside the quotation marks are a question, it goes before the closing quotation mark. Otherwise, it goes after.

Women’s unsuccessful spelling

Any professional writer (and everyone else who attempts to write in English) should know that the possessive of women is women’s — not this mess on Yahoo! Health:

Error due to ‘confusion’: blogger post

There seems to be some confusion over at Yahoo! News concerning the location of a colon relative to a closing quotation mark:

Two punctuation marks never go before a closing quotation mark: a colon and a semicolon.

Walk? Is that your question?

Did the writer of this headline for the Yahoo! front page attend “comedian school”? Because the placement of this question mark is a real joke:

If the question is, “Walk?” then the question mark belongs before the closing quotation mark. If the whole sentence is a question, it belongs after the closing quotation mark.

What’s the show called?

There’s the “X Factor.” And then there’s the “X Factor?” — a totally different show. Isn’t it? I’ll ask the editors for the Yahoo! front page because they came up with that show title:

Look, it’s pretty simple: If the question mark is part of the title, it goes before the ending quotation mark. If it isn’t, it doesn’t.

Punctuation ‘looks wrong,’ editor says

What’s wrong with this picture from Yahoo! News?  Could it be the punctuation? Yes, yes it could.

In the U.S.  a colon goes after a closing quotation mark. (A period and comma go before it — except in other English-speaking countries, where they go after it.) So, the location of the colon is wrong, but that’s not the worst of it. The colon should actually be a comma.

The real problem with 30-somethings

Well, it’s not really a problem with 30-somethings. It’s just a problem with one anonymous 30-something:

Unless the editor for the Yahoo! front page put the apostrophe in the wrong place. Nah, that would never happen.