I’m pretty much a strict constructionist when it come to grammar issues but there are exceptions. I’m not above starting a sentence with “And” or “But” and my comma usage is driven by what I see as logical and making my meaning as clear as possible even if my 8th grade teacher, Miss Frump, wouldn’t approve.
One place where I do follow the (American) convention is the relative placement of quotation marks and other punctuation. Thus, I always place the period before the quotation mark even though it often doesn’t make sense to do it that way.
The English do this correctly but American usage insists on the illogical. It wouldn’t matter all that much except for when it does:
- To exit the application, type “quit.”
- To exit the application, type “quit”.
If you’re a user trying to exit an application (that uses “quit” to exit), which would you prefer the documentation to say?
Erich Grunewald has a nice post that argues that the American convention is an abomination and we should all be doing what the English do. It’s hard to argue with him. Over the years, I’ve read many explanations for why the American convention is the way it is. They mainly cite some ancient typography technical issue. Here’s what the MLA has to say about it. I’ve read other, similar explanations. Regardless, it’s time to stop the nonsense and adopt the more logical English convention.