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What rules apply to punctuation for an abbreviation, such as "etc," where another punctuation character follows?

My question is a perfect illustration of itself! That is, should I say

<< such as "etc," where >> or << such as "etc.," where >>

Another example is "etc" followed by a right parenthesis:

<< (lions, tigers, bears, etc) were >> or << (lions, tigers, bears, etc.) were >>

The period looks even worse at the end of a sentence.

<< lions, tigers, bears, etc! >> or << lions, tigers, bears, etc.! >>

I omit the period because it just looks right. But most spelling checkers mark "etc," as wrong as "etc.," as right.

The primary authority at my workplace is the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, 3rd edition. I looked there but found no guidance.

Jonathan Sachs
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  • Can you use quotes or italics instead of angle brackets? I'd edit but I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say, so I don't want to mess anything up. – Catija Aug 06 '15 at 20:00

1 Answers1

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This is a matter of style, so consult your style guide, either the one you've adopted or the one thrust upon you. I use The Chicago Manual of Style:

MULTIPLE PUNCTUATION 5.5 The use of more than one mark of punctuation at the same location in a sentence is, for the most part, limited to instances involving quotation marks, parentheses, brackets, or dashes.... An abbreviating period, however, is never omitted before a mark of sentence punctuation unless the latter is the period terminating the sentence:

   O.D., who hard apparently just heard the report, came over to our table in great agitation.

   The study was funded by Mulvehill & Co.

deadrat
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  • That's a reasonable rule, but it's odd to say "THE PERIOD terminating the sentence" when a sentence can also be terminated by a question mark or exclamation mark. I'd definitely extend the "no period" exception to cover those cases. – Jonathan Sachs Aug 06 '15 at 22:38
  • The definite article distinguishes the period that ends the sentence from the one that marks an abbreviation. The rule dictates two marks in "Is et cetera abbreviated etc.? but only one in "Yes, the abbreviation is etc." – deadrat Aug 06 '15 at 22:45