stupid grammar rule., POOH. Options

[sadolakced acid]

this sentence is punctuated correctly:
Did Bob say "lemmings"?

this sentence is punctuated correctly:
Bob really said "lemmings"!

this sentence is punctuated incorrectly
Bob said "lemmings".

the correct way is:
Bob said "lemmings."

which is the stupidest rule every.

Why?

because of why punctuation rules with quote work.

if the quotation is a sentence, end it in the quote. also end the sentence containing the quote.

Bob said, "I am a lemming.".

however, that is redundant and the last period is left off, leaving

Bob said, "I am a lemming."

however

Bob said "lemmings". is the proper way to punctuate it, and then there is no redundancy, and no periods to remove.

so why the f**k do you have to move the period inside the quotations?

[*mipadi*]

I finally figured out the rule for quotations.

Question marks and exclamation points go outside of the quotes, unless it is a part of the quote. For example, this sentence is correct:

Was the sign marked "Enter"?
The sign was marked "Enter"!

Of course, if it is part of the quote, it would be like this:

I think he asked, "What did the sign say?"

The issue of periods, of course, raises some issues, and it depends on whether the writer is using British English or American English. British English places the period logically--outside the quotation marks, unless it is part of the quote, as in:

The sign was marked "Enter".

American English, on the other hand, places it inside the marks:

The sign was marked "Enter."

Why? Apparently it dates back to old printing presses. Periods and commas were the most fragile characters in a printing press. Arranging them in such a way that a double quote mark was to the left, and a space was to the right, made them liable to being broken off or otherwise damaged. Thus, many printers starting placing the periods and commas inside the quote marks, so they were bordered by a letter and a quotation mark instead, and thus more protected.[1]

It's probably more correct to use the British style--most of the world uses British English--but the American style is not wrong. I personally prefer the British style, just because it makes more sense.