If a sentence ends in "), where should the comma be placed?

Question

I run into this problem all the time, where a sentence ends in a quotation mark followed by a closing parenthesis. Where should the period be placed? Does the context of the sentence itself make a difference (i.e. if the quotation marks enclose a complete sentence or not) ?

I ask because whenever quotation marks are used in a sentence, I believe the closing quote should always have some sort of punctuation applied to it... Is this correct?

Also, I have noticed that on Y!A grammar questions often have contradictory answers to the point that it is difficult to determine which answer is correct. I have noticed this with the question I am asking and with other questions in the past.

In order for me to have a bit of confidence in your answer I would appreciate it if you could also answer this question for me (one receives contradicting answers that I already know the answer to):

When is it correct to use "an" instead of "a" in a sentence?

I would ask this in an "English," section (oh great, see, it just doesn't feel right for me to have a comma after English there) but I don't see one. So, "Homework Help," it is!

Thanks!

Answer 1

The usage of the parenthesis is relevant.  If the parenthesis merely include a reference, then no punctuation should come before the final parenthesis.  If it is included at the end of a sentence, put it on the outside.  It only goes on the inside if an entire sentence is in the parenthesis.

Quotation marks don't always require punctuation either.  Only if you would use the punctuation if they weren't there should you include the punctuation, and you should always put the punctuation inside the quotation marks, unless you are asking a question, and the text in quotation is at the end of an interrogative sentence.

And for your check question, you use an instead of a when the next word begins with a vowel sound.  An example would be this very sentence, a demonstration of both a & an.

Answer 2

If you have a complete sentence quoted within the parenthesis, the period goes right after the last word, before the end quote. For example:

(She always said, "Life is unfair.")

You don't need another period or anything. If you are using the parenthesis to interject a brief thought, you may not need a period at all. For example:

My aunt the podiatrist (God rest her "soul") was always right.

"a" versus "an"

Use "a" before a singular noun beginning with a consonant: a dog, a house

Use "an"  before a singular noun beginning with a vowel: an umbrella, an apple

The Little, Brown Handbook is my favorite grammar reference.

(I would have italicized or underlined this title as would be the proper way, but I can't figure out how to do it here! Only quotation marks are used for short pieces of work like a poem or an article within a magazine!)

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brown-Handb...

I hope I answered your grammar question!