How can I quote a numbered list in markdown?

Question

I came across a question asking for comment on a list of items. The question was something like this:

Are the following statements true?

1. The sky is blue
2. The earth is round
3. Aliens built the pyramids

In my answer, I wanted to include the list and answer each point in turn. Something like:

1. The sky is blue

blah blah blah, more blah blah, and some more blah blah.

2. The earth is round (this should be "2. The earth is round")

As you can see, the quoted 2. is changed to 1. by markdown. I cannot figure out how I can include the numbers from the original list in the quoted list, without markdown treating each entry as a new list and numbering from one.

I know I could use 2) instead of 2. but that is no longer, strictly speaking, a quote.

So, is there a way to quote a numbered list without having markup treat it as a list?

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NOTE: I am not linking to the question because it is from the biology beta site. I am asking here because this meta is much more active and I have a better chance of an answer.

Answer 1

To make a standalone quote starting with a "2.", use the following:

> 2\. The earth is round

Turns into:

2. The earth is round

A literal 2. turned into 1. when standing alone is by design, since in Markdown you could write numbered lists as sequences of 1., 1., and so on.

Answer 2

The nearest I can get based on how you were trying it is this:

1. The sky is blue

   General content here

2. The earth is round

   More response

3. Aliens built the pyramids

   Final Response

You can do this by moving the > to after the number, then use a space before your responses.