please help me punctuate this sentence

“Gertrude, can you even say the words aloud? Can you say, ‘I love my son’?”

If it doesn't seem right, you could always get around it by making it a command or request: "Tell me that you love your son." or "Say, 'I love my son'."

I second what ElaraSophia said. I don't like to agree with Word, but they're right, too.

What it comes down to is what you already know. The phrase the guy is asking if she can even say is not itself a question, so no question mark goes inside its quotation markings. Yet the fact that he's asking demands a question mark within the quotation marks of his dialogue.

Maryn, fairly demanding herself at times, but nicer

ElaraSophia said:

“Gertrude, can you even say the words aloud? Can you say, ‘I love my son’?”

If it doesn't seem right, you could always get around it by making it a command or request: "Tell me that you love your son." or "Say, 'I love my son'."

Click to expand...

Either put the question mark inside or outside the single quote. It's correct. Doesn't look weird to me at all.

“Gertrude, can you even say the words aloud? Can you say, ‘I love my son.’?”

Click to expand...

I must be a real duffus, this is how I would have tried it.