Where should the comma and period be placed when writing a series of heights? Should it be
6'2," 6'3," and 6'4."
...or...
6'2", 6'3", and 6'4".
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2Technically the inches symbol is distinct from a quotation mark, although they look almost identical.– Nuclear HoagieCommented Sep 23 at 13:25
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This is the symbol mentioned by Nuclear Hoagie: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_(symbol)– BenCommented Sep 23 at 20:36
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3I really don't understand how you could come to the conclusion to write the comma between numbers and their units??– infinitezeroCommented Sep 24 at 6:33
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2@infinitezero Because that would seem consistent with US punctuation rules regarding quotes: "the period or comma punctuation always comes before the final quotation mark." Personally, I've yet to understand the reasoning behind that rule. Putting commas outside a quote seems more intuitive.– JoLCommented Sep 24 at 11:05
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@JoL I mean, it fits in perfectly with writing the date in mixed order and using an obscure conversion factor unit system ;)– infinitezeroCommented Sep 25 at 7:50
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2 Answers
In this instance, the " symbol (or more accurately, ″) acts as a unit symbol, rather than a punctuation mark. With that in mind, putting the commas and periods before the unit symbols like in your first example would be akin to writing something like this:
180,cm 190,cm and 200.cm
Your second example is the correct one.
Prime Mark, not punctuation
The ′ symbol in measurement is not an apostrophe. It is called a Prime Mark and comes from mathematics notation.
The ″ symbol is called a Double Prime Mark, again it is mathematical notation not punctuation, and Triple Prime ‴, and so on.
Prime and Double Prime don't have a specific meaning out of context. The prime symbol replaces whatever word is the primary division of measure. The double prime replaces whatever is the secondary unit of measure. In your use they become feet and inches respectively. In astronomy they used for arc-minute and arc-second.
How they are written
The Prime Mark is a notation modifier on a number (as is the Double Prime Mark). Do not insert punctuation between the Prime Mark and the number it is modifying.
There is a space between the 2 numbers because they indicate different units of measure: 5′ 6″
Notice these divisions of measure do not follow the decimal system. It would be incorrect to write 5.6ft when the actual measure is 5ft 6in.
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2I'm skeptical about your points related to the use of arc-minute and arc-second in astronomy. "Minute" refers to small size when pronounced as "my-noot", which it isn't here - astronomical minutes are pronounced the same as the unit of time, "min-it". Additionally, in this context "second" is actually typically the third unit of measure, after degrees and minutes. Minutes and seconds are simply unit names, and don't allude to the smallness or position of the unit. Commented Sep 24 at 18:27
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"Historically, the word "minute" comes from the Latin pars minuta prima, meaning "first small part". This division of the hour can be further refined with a "second small part" (Latin: pars minuta secunda), and this is where the word "second" comes from." From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minute @NuclearHoagie Commented Sep 24 at 20:02