Articles and Stories

June 22, 2016

I’m sure you remember sitting in English class, learning about boring and dry punctuation rules. You had to fix sentences that had commas in the wrong spot or that had left out periods. But did you realize that sometimes the lack, or overuse, of punctuation can completely alter the meaning of a sentence? For example, the addition of a period in the following sentence completely changes the meaning:
​I don’t think I’m funny.
​I don’t think. I’m funny.

Commas can also dramatically alter the meaning of a sentence, as in the following two examples:
​The democrats say the republicans will lose the election.
​The democrats, say the republicans, will lose the election.

​Most of the time travelers worry about their luggage.
​Most of the time, travelers worry about their luggage.

Some people believe that if you list several items, you need to use a comma after each one, including before the last item in a list (e.g. “please buy some eggs, flour, and milk”). Other argue that it is unnecessary and disrupts the flow of a sentence. There are arguments on both sides, but occasionally it is required to avoid confusion. For example:
​We invited the dogs, William, and Harry.
​We invited the dogs, William and Harry.

Here is a classic example showing how different use of punctuation can alter the meaning:
​A woman without her man is nothing.
​A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Some people believe that punctuation complicates matters. But did you realize punctuation may save lives? Here are some examples:
​Some people enjoy cooking, their families, and their dogs.
​Some people enjoy cooking their families and their dogs.

​Let’s eat, Grandma.
​Let’s eat Grandma.

​We’re going to learn to cut and paste, kids.
​We’re going to learn to cut and paste kids.

Save lives! Use correct punctuation.