Final answer:
Sentence C, 'We need to buy more milk,' said Jordan, uses appropriate punctuation by correctly placing a comma and quotation marks around the spoken dialogue. Sentences A and B lack quotation marks, and sentence D misses a comma and incorrectly places the question mark outside the quotation marks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence that uses appropriate punctuation is C. 'We need to buy more milk,' said Jordan.
In this sentence, the comma properly separates the spoken dialogue from the rest of the sentence, which is attribution to the speaker. Answer A and B are missing quotation marks around the spoken parts,
whereas Answer D is incorrect because it lacks a comma after 'salt' and before the end quotation, as well as lacks proper placement of the question mark within the quotation marks.
For a clearer understanding of how punctuation works with direct quotations, let's review some rules and apply them to other sentences. When using direct quotations:
- Always use quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quoted material.
- Separate the quoted material from the attribution (e.g., 'he said,' 'she asked') with a comma.
- Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks in American English.
- Question marks and exclamation points go inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quoted material; otherwise, they go outside.
- Correct punctuation
and proper use of commas and quotation marks are essential for making sentences clear and professional.