Where to place speech marks

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Hi

When writing the following sentence, I'm not quite sure whether the closing speech mark should go before or after the full stop.

The phrase “I can’t” can often be translated to: “I’m not even willing to try.”

Or should it be

The phrase “I can’t” can often be translated to: “I’m not even willing to try".

I appreciate any forthcoming advice?

Cheers

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@Dave1977b,

The difference depends on what side of the Atlantic you are.

Americans do it one way, we do it another, it doesn't really matter it's a question of style.

However, you shouldn't have used a colon because what follows is not a list, use a comma instead.

You also need a comma after I can't.

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@Dave1977b,

I prefer the second example. But I couldn't find a definitive answer when searching grammar sites. And izzy's point about British vs USAmerican usage adds to the uncertainty. Here's a way to avoid this problem:

The phrase I can’t can often be translated to I’m not even willing to try.

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@Dave1977b,

I also prefer the second one.

In this case the sentence finishes after the inverted commas so that's where the full stop needs to be.

And you don't need a question mark after advice.

Where to place speech marks

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