Punctuation. . .

[Just Say N20]

From time to time I have been know to rant a little about the quality of wording/punctuation in For Sale ads, or the communication style of a contributor on this site.

I'm not an English teacher, actually I'm probably as far from being qualified to do that as a person could be. However, the way things seem to be progressing, pretty soon it will be almost impossible to tell what someone actually means after reading what they have written.

If I were to listen to you say the words below, I would be able to understand what you meant, based on how you said it. However, when written, the author has to supply the punctuation where appropriate, so I will be able to clearly understand what is meant.

I came across this, which I believe nicely demonstrates the importance of punctuation, at the very least.


An English professor wrote the words "A woman without her man is nothing" on the chalkboard and asked his students to punctuate it correctly.

All of the males in the class wrote:

"A woman, without her man, is nothing."


All the females in the class wrote:

"A woman: without her, man is nothing."

Punctuation is powerful

[realbold]

LOL :rofl:

[HIGH LIFE]

Best damm post I ever read.... Bravo ! "HIGH LIFE"

[Bubba Dog]

Bravo, indeed.

[Ed Donnelly]

Bill; My wife agrees with you.............Ed

[cutwater]

I would say "Bravo," too...

But I've been on this forum for 7 years. I've given up hope that this will ever change :bonk: :nilly: My favorite all-time example -

"Let's eat grandma!" vs "Let's eat, grandma!"

It makes a huge difference!!

[zelatore]

I blame texting and twitter....or maybe I'm just getting old.

[Sweet little 16]

here is a long distance Casey Casem dedication to all of the punctually anal: :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFpsDAL4oKE

[McGary911]

You're so right. One of my pet peeves:

"...external steering, drive shower and recently freshened Bravo's....."

No one knows how to use (actually NOT use) an apostrophe anymore.

I can't tell you how many times I see this in professionally made signs. My library actually had a some racks where they kept multimedia. They were labeled: CD's, VHS Tape's, DVD's. In a freakin' library. :bonk:

I emailed the library, and they had the signs remade.

John "Apostrophe Police" McGary

[Just Say N20]

I really like the craigslist ads that are 500 words long, and the only punctuation in the entire ad is the period at the end. The entire ad is just one giant run on sentence, without even the benefit of the occassional capital letter to help identify a new thought.

[jstrahn]

Completely agree with the OP. It is astounding to me how terrible the grammar is on some of the craigslist ads I see. What perplexes me the most is that often times it will be for a boat worth $100k+.

Clearly, if you have a boat of this value, you have a good bit of wealth. What career are you in that has allowed you to have grammar this poor and make a good amount of money? /rant

These comics sums it up pretty well:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

[HOWARD O]

My library actually had a some racks where they kept multimedia.
John "Apostrophe Police" McGary

That's funny, I actually saw a librarian the other day that had a some rack! :yes:

[Just Say N20]

jstrahn, those posters should be on everyone's wall, right behind their computer screen. They are great.

I guess that assumes that they would care in the first place.

Never mind.

[Tidbart]

Not punctuation but spelling.

I was walking around a Publix Supermarket and noticed the overhead aisle sign listed "Stationary". I am certain it wasn't moving.

I had to point it out to the manager. It had been there about 3 years. It took a few months but they fixed it.

[zelatore]

Completely agree with the OP. It is astounding to me how terrible the grammar is on some of the craigslist ads I see. What perplexes me the most is that often times it will be for a boat worth $100k+.

Clearly, if you have a boat of this value, you have a good bit of wealth. What career are you in that has allowed you to have grammar this poor and make a good amount of money? /rant

These comics sums it up pretty well:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

Wow. I just wasted a good hour at theoatmeal.com I don't know if I should thank you or curse you. :wink:

[jstrahn]

Wow. I just wasted a good hour at theoatmeal.com I don't know if I should thank you or curse you. :wink:

I love that site. He has a couple books as well. Some hilarious stuff.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Kinda like the one that's been doing the rounds lately ..
The difference between ..
Helping your uncle jack off a horse and Helping your Uncle Jack off a horse .

[Ghost]

And then there are the classics where punctuation isn't even an issue.

"Please feel free to take advantage of the chambermaid."

[zelatore]

And then there are the classics where punctuation isn't even an issue.

"Please feel free to take advantage of the chambermaid."
Well, I'll at least need to see a picture first...