It depends on what country you are from. If you are writing from the
United States, the correct way to write it is:
Joe wants to learn to sing "Happy Birthday."
In most of the rest of the world, it is considered proper to write it as:
Joe wants to learn to sing "Happy Birthday".
Evidence of this can be found in the Guide to Grammar and Writing on
the Capital Community College Foundation website (
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm )
The guide says that in the United States, "periods and commas go
inside quotation marks regardless of logic." In the UK and Canada,
punctuation around quotatations marks are "more apt to follow logic".
It gives an example:
---
In American style, then, you would write: My favorite poem is Robert
Frost's "Design." But in England you would write: My favorite poem is
Robert Frost's "Design".
---
This is further supported on the website GrammarTips(
http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/inside.html ). American "usage
places commas and periods inside the quotation marks, regardless of
logic."
The GrammarTips site is an interesting read, with the person providing
the information on the site saying that he lets his British students
place periods and commas outside the quotation marks. His American
students, however, have to do it the "American way" and place them
inside the quotation marks.
Hope I was helpful. I'll be glad to provide any clarification or
additional information if you need it. |