Friday, August 5, 2011

Grammar Friday - Punctuation

So you don't think punctuation is important?

Version 1
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?
Gloria

Version 2
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria


And the only difference is the punctuation.

***I wish I knew who to credit for this wonderful example to. I received it years ago in the body of an email. When I googled it, I got hits all over the place.***

What about you? Do you think punctuation has its place? Or are you one of the folks who'd like to get rid of it?

24 comments:

  1. I love punctuation. It has to be there in writing. It's like Lynne Truss book, 'Eats leaves and shoots: a Zero Tolerance to Punctuation. Just the title is a great example.

    Eats shoots and leaves.

    Or

    Eats, shoots and leaves.

    When adding the comma, both read completely different

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  2. Punctuation is everything, as Truss clearly showed with the title of her book!

    Ellie Garratt

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  3. That was nicely done. I prefer the second one. The girl is a weiner in the first one...dump the guy already. :) Have great day!

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  4. My punctuation leaves alot to be desired. I could learn much from you.

    Yvonne.

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  5. ANother great punctuation blog!

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  6. I love this kind of stuff :D

    Cute, cute. Happy Friday!

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  7. I love these kinds of posts. I've seen it done with commas too. And wow what a difference they can make.

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  8. A very necessary (and if incorrectly done, distracting) evil :)

    Good post!
    From your newest follower :)

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  9. Love the thoughts. Thank I need it :)

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  10. Yes, punctuation is our friend. I love your grammar Fridays. :D

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  11. I love this! It reminds me of something I saw once that said.

    Let's eat Grandma!

    vs.

    Let's eat, Grandma.

    Punctuation saves lives!

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  12. That's awesome! The punctuation sure changes the meaning from one to another.

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  13. Great job. My husband never uses periods. It drives me insane. Lol.
    www.rebeccabany.com

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  14. I'm biased, but as a Tech Writer, my answer is yes, yes, yes:)

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  15. Coming from a Catholic school education, I'm a stickler for grammar and punctuation. It irritates me that they don't teach it much in the schools any longer. It will be our downfall.

    By the way, I left you a challenge on my blog today. I hope you decide to take me up on it.

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  16. Thanks for sharing that example, Donna! It definitely gets the point across. Punctuation will always have a place, in my opinion. Have a great weekend! :)

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  17. I like punctuation, though it feels like what I remember from elementary changed between then and now. I would love to have comma usage simplified. The comma is a common enemy of you and I, I believe!
    :)

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  18. If anything I probably use too much punctuation. And, even thought I am a retired teacher I don't always follow the rules. kt

    Oh, by the way I dropped by to put you on to a hilarious post:
    http://confessionsofaterriblemom.blogspot.com/2011/08/comcast-cable-mafia.html

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  19. Use punctuation for clarity. Use it ONLY when necessary for clarity. Otherwise, it messes with the flow. It messes with meaning. This is my humble opinion on the subject of punctuation. smiley face ))
    Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets

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  20. Woman, without her, man is nothing.
    OR
    Woman without her man, is nothing.

    Two very different meanings, keep punctuation around.

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  21. Not a fan, but I've learn to accept the fact that it's necessary. :)

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  22. Excellent example to illustrate the importance of punctuation and to clarify the meaning of the letter. Like Ann said, use it for clarity.

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  23. Lovely example. I agonise over punctuation, the placing of commas to make the sentence flow and the meaning clear, so I guess I think it's important :)

    Wasn't there a Hercule Poirot mystery once, where the entire plot revolved around a letter with a speck of dirt or something on it that looked like a comma and which changed its whole meaning?

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  24. I'm so old-fashioned that I posted a blog this week in favor of penmanship/cursive writing, so you can imagine how I feel about punctuation! I heard once that when Christopher Walken gets a script, he goes through it and changes the punctuation of all his lines. Knowing that helps explain his delivery.

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