SOME British readers might wonder why a London-based publication uses double inverted commas like "these". And some American readers may wonder why commas and full stops (er, periods) sometimes appear ...

Word, word, word, word, word, punctuation mark. This is how we read. Sometimes there are more words, or fewer. Occasionally additional marks—commas, em-dashes—enter the mix. But that’s pretty much how ...

Inverted commas make it clear when someone is speaking by sitting high up above the speech. Making sure they stay either side of what’s being said, they open at the start and close at the end of the ...