by Ellen Olivetti

I admit it–I’m a stickler for grammar and punctuation. It makes me nuts when I see signs like “I’ts Time for a Party!” or Ladie’s Clothes.” AARRGGHH! What really slays me is when I see documents–brochures, websites, business plans, etc.–written by professional writers with misspellings and missing or misused punctuation.

Why should people care about punctuation and grammar? First of all, it’s our language, and it is important to use it correctly. Secondly, punctuation is critical to the understanding of a passage. For instance, consider the meaning of these two sentences, changed drastically just by punctuation:

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

This example is taken from the 2003 book Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss. This is not a grammar book nor is Truss, by her own admission, a grammarian. The book addresses the endangered species of proper punctuation in a witty, pointed and delightful manner. It’s an easy read, but one you will not soon forget.

Below are two excerpts from this book that show the importance of proper punctuation to the meaning of a passage.

Dear Jack,
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?
Jill

Dear Jack,
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 happy forever. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Jill

It’s a great book about the serious topic of abusing the English language. Buy it, read it, and take it to heart. Maybe you, too, will become a grammar geek. Who’s to say (or is it whose?)?