Humorous
Punctuation Errors
Today, September 24,
is National Punctuation Day. I remember the nuns in my Catholic school teaching
punctuation rules, over and over. Much of it stuck. Just because we text and
email now doesn’t mean we can throw good punctuation out the window with the
typewriter.
I’m a stickler for
good punctuation (thank you, nuns), but that doesn’t mean I always get it
right. I’ve read many books lately, both indie and from major publishers, with
punctuation errors, mostly comma errors. One thing that really bothers me is
when there isn’t a comma before a person’s proper name: as in, “Hi Mary.” Correct
punctuation is “Hi, Mary.” I’ve been seeing this a lot.
Punctuation can
change the meaning of a sentence. I scoured the internet for examples of how
punctuation can change meanings. Here are some humorous ones.
This first one below is
correct:
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?
This is what happens to the same
statement when it’s not punctuated correctly:
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?
More examples:
Woman without her man is nothing.
Woman, without her, man is nothing.
Let’s eat Grandpa.
Let’s eat, Grandpa.
All those out there who like to cook and eat my wife made
a new blog.
All those out there who like to cook and eat, my wife
made a new blog.
Can you figure out where the commas go in this one?
Attention: Toilet only for disabled elderly pregnant
children.
This magazine cover with Rachel Ray says it all.
Or this one:
See how a comma can change these two below?
Most of the time, travelers worry about their luggage.
Most of the time travelers worry about their luggage.
Are there any punctuation errors that bother you? I’d
love to hear them.
Drum Roll! New release!
Ghosts of Deveraux Manor is now available for pre-order.
Mayhem, Mystery, Murder, and Matchmaking
Ghosts
When an American woman inherits a
manor in France, she finds it comes with some unexpected accessories—matchmaking
ghosts and a hunky ex-pat Brit who may or may not be a murderer.
Philadelphian
Charlotte—Charli—Deveraux had no idea she had relatives in France until she
receives notice she’s inherited a chateau in Normandy. Her art history degree
has led to nothing but a soul-sucking bank job, so she takes leave, and, with
her best friend, heads to France to check out the centuries-old manor. But her
inheritance comes with more than she expected, including an enticing, maddening
neighbor. She’d been betrayed by a man once. She’s not about to trust another
one.
International
art restorer and expat Brit, Travis Gardner, wants nothing to do with any woman
named Deveraux. He’d been married to one. When his ex-wife was murdered,
suspicion fell on him. Although he had a strong alibi and was cleared by the
police, a cloud hangs over him. It doesn’t matter how sweet and wholesome
Charli is, he’s on the hunt for the real killer. He doesn’t have time to help
Charli find missing necklaces or the keys to a mysterious locked turret.
But a
pair of matchmaking ghosts—and their equally ghostly cat—have other ideas. To
get into the good graces of the Big Guy, they need to bring Charli and Travis
together, and solve not only his ex-wife’s murder, but their own. In a village
full of suspects, can Charli and Travis find the keys, the jewels, and the
truth before they, too, become ghosts of Deveraux manor?
And I salute the typos and grammar mistakes that make it past all the critiques, the edits and the proofs.
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