Did you know today is National Punctuation Day?Today's post is devoted to those
oh-so-effective, sometimes elusive marks
that help writers communicate.
In Praise of Punctuation
The marks of punctuation are valuable, it’s true.
They let the reader know when Tommy speaks, or Sue.
They mark the end, they note a pause, they even show possession.
If they’re not in your repertoire, you’d best go to confession.
Three will mark a sentence end, they let us know it’s over
Without, the thought would run amok like Spot or even Rover.
Three can indicate a pause, they let us take a break
Imagine talking on and on…no breath—for goodness sake!
Two are used to connect, they join things with a line
They bring together syllables, link eighty-eight just fine.
Two can help us to explain or show things as a group
Without how would you know that bouillabaisse is (soup)?
The last three marks stand on their own, each has a purpose true
Two stand above, one dots along, without them we’d be blue.
Now, can you name the groups above? Just try, and see if you
Know what to use to pass along a message that is true.
The marks of punctuation are valuable, it’s true.
They let the reader know when Tommy speaks, or Sue.
They mark the end, they note a pause, they even show possession.
If they’re not in your repertoire, you’d best go to confession.
Three will mark a sentence end, they let us know it’s over
Without, the thought would run amok like Spot or even Rover.
Three can indicate a pause, they let us take a break
Imagine talking on and on…no breath—for goodness sake!
Two are used to connect, they join things with a line
They bring together syllables, link eighty-eight just fine.
Two can help us to explain or show things as a group
Without how would you know that bouillabaisse is (soup)?
The last three marks stand on their own, each has a purpose true
Two stand above, one dots along, without them we’d be blue.
Now, can you name the groups above? Just try, and see if you
Know what to use to pass along a message that is true.
Happy Punctuation Day! Today is the day we honor something a writer cannot do without. Some consider them friends while others see them as a necessary evil.
They delineate, they clarify… Frankly,I can’t imagine life without them! Run-on sentences rank among my peskiest pet peeves.
Let’s see how well you identified the groups above:
The first three are your esteemed period, question mark, and exclamation point.
The second three would be the comma, semicolon and the colon—perhaps the most misunderstood of the bunch.
The next duo would be the dash and hyphen, followed by the bracket and parentheses pair.
The last trio includes the apostrophe, the quotation mark, and the elusive ellipsis.
Want more information on National Punctuation Day and how to celebrate it? Visit http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/ to find out how to cook the Official Meat Loaf of National Punctuation Day and what, oh what to do with the serial comma!
For the love of commas,
Laura
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4 comments:
Delightful post, Laura!
Aren't you so clever? Will try to do better with the serial comma, the period, the exclamation mark, and the quotation marks. Those are the problem for me-quotation marks.
Cute! Thanks for sharing. :O)
What a fun idea!
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