punctuation - Rules for three sets of quotation marks



What rules are there for when you have three sets of quotation marks?


“I saw that Julia was really annoyed when Mike answered, “‘Blade Runner,’”” John said.


(‘Blade Runner’ in singles. Mike answered in doubles. John said in doubles.)


“I saw that Julia was really annoyed when Mike answered, ‘“Blade Runner,”’” John said.


(Mike answered in singles. “Blade Runner” in doubles. John said in doubles.)


Rewriting might help a little.


“When Mike answered, “‘Blade Runner,’” Julia looked really angry,” John said.


(Mike answered in doubles. ‘Blade Runner’ in singles. John said in doubles.)


Basically, I’m wondering whether you alternate, or start small and get bigger until you can’t get any bigger.


The conventions may vary according to British or American usage, so please state which one you are refering to.




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