Where does the full stop come in this sentence?

The problem is that the inner quote should be offset in single quotation marks. Put the period between the ending single quote mark and the ending double quote mark.

“I think, when you read this, and if you're at all literal, then you might say, 'I have every right to do what I want with the world and I don’t need to care about any consequences'.”

The placement and spacing in "...s'.", ", Mark, has always escaped me. For example in the foregoing sentence should the " . " following the "s' " be replaced by by the " , " following the second " " " ? and in the next sentenceHowever if you follow the convention of placing period after last word then I suggest a space between the " ' " and the " " ", wondering in addition about the space between the third " " " and the "?"

In the United States, they use single quotation marks [ ‘ ’ ] to enclose quoted material within other quoted material:

"'Design' is my favorite poem," he said.
"Did she ask, 'What's going on?'"
Ralph Ellison recalls the Golden Age of Jazz this way: "It was itself a texture of fragments, repetitive, nervous, not fully formed; its melodic lines underground, secret and taunting; its riffs jeering—'Salt peanuts! Salt peanuts!'"

British practice is quite different. In fact, single-quote marks and double-quote marks are apt to be reversed in usage. Instructors in the U.S. should probably take this into account when reading papers submitted by students who have gone to school in other parts of the globe.

Also, the placement of periods, exclamation marks, etc inside quotes differs between British/British Commonwealth and US usage.

The British rule is to put the full stop (British term for "period", which suggests a British English background) where it logically belongs.

A British rendering of the sentence in the original question would be:

'I think if you read this and you were literal then I think you could say, “I have every right to do what I want with the world and I don’t need to care about it."'

Thanks Con on behalf of Mark

But don't you agree that " " 'Design' " is better than ""'Design'"

...and where does one place the "?"?


Edited to wonder whether " " " 'Design' " " ought instead be " " ' "Design" ' "

I don't hold with those spaces.

Hi Markstead,
It should be...... “I think, if you read this and you were literal, then I think you could say, 'I have every right to do what I want with the world and I don’t need to care about it'."

That would be the BrE conventions, but AmE prefers to put the period/full stop inside all quotation marks, even though it makes for stuff like: ...it.'" Both are acceptable, imo.

Yea Con, I didn't think the idea would prove very popular

Thanks for your help.
I've gone with proofreadmyfile on this occasion.

Like I said, both are acceptable. I tell my students to choose between either the BrE or AmE conventions and stick to one. Mixing them together in the same writing makes the reader think you're careless and making mistakes.