Secret

No one seems to know this. I didn't know this until my college years, and only then because of my chosen educational path. So, once you know, you notice the mistake everywhere...because no one seems to know it. It's a pretty well kept secret. But I'm about to unleash this powerful hidden fact. :)

The period always goes inside the quotation marks. Always. It doesn't matter if it's a complete sentence, or just quotes surrounding the last word in the sentence. The period always goes inside the quotation marks.

Sentence example: She said, "I love my dog."

Word example: I just want to be "friends."

Notice, the period is inside the quotation marks on both examples...not outside.

I know...it's a crazy thought. Especially the one word example. But it's the truth. I have plenty of editing/grammar books and writing/English/editing classes to back me up on this.

When in doubt, the period always always always goes inside the quotation marks. Now...the question mark is another story. That will be the next revealed secret. :)