Short answer: it's regional. Long answer: Depending on the region, if the quoted string itself is a complete sentence, the fullstop belongs as part of the quot

Short answer: it's regional. Long answer: Depending on the region, if the quoted string itself is a complete sentence, the fullstop belongs as part of the quote. Example: "My mother," he said, "is not going to accept your invitation to the party." This left me upset. If the quoted string is a sub-section of a sentence, then the punctuation belongs to the parent sentence. Example: My father often said that my mother "didn't have time for the bother" of cooking, which explains why I don't have a very sophisticated palate.