ERRORS IN PUNCTUATIONS MAKE THE SENTENCES RIDICULOUS.
1.
i. A woman, without her man, is nothing. ii. A woman!
Without her, man is nothing.
2.
i. Let’s eat our dear friends! ii. Let’s eat, our dear friends!
3.
i. Why did the lion eat the hero Mr. Martin? ii. Why
did the lion eat the hero, Mr. Martin?
4.
i. This test is a killer Mrs. Smith. ii. This test
is a killer, Mrs. Smith.
5.
i. I like cooking cats and women. ii. I like
cooking, cats and women.
6.
i. Today, we will learn to cut and paste kids. ii.
Today, we will learn to cut and paste, kids.
7.
i. Smoking bare feet pets are prohibited in our apartment. i. Smoking, bare feet, pets are prohibited in our apartment.
8.
i. I am sorry I love you. ii. I am sorry, I love
you.
9.
i. This toilet is only for the disabled elderly pregnant
children! ii. This toilet is only for the disabled, elderly, pregnant, children!
10. i.
Man bacon makes anything taste better. ii. Man, bacon makes anything taste
better.
11. i. The goat eats shoots and leaves. ii. The goat eats shoots, and leaves.
12. i.
My sister Rajashree and Mukesh got full marks in Sanskrit. ii. My sister, Rajashree and
Mukesh got full marks in Sanskrit.
13.
Without the Oxford comma, the sentence above could be interpreted as stating that you love your parents, and your parents are Kylie Minogue and Kermit the Frog!
Here is the same sentence with the Oxford comma:
I love my parents, Kylie Minogue, and Kermit the Frog.
I saw the strippers, Obama, and Trump.
I saw the strippers, Obama and Trump.
Say “NO” to Drugs, from the NMB Police D.A.R.E Officers.
Say “NO” to Drugs from the NMB Police D.A.R.E Officers.
Jack said Bill hit him.
Here are some ways the sentence can be punctuated to provide different meanings, with the meaning shown in parentheses for each sentence:
‘Jack’, said Bill, ‘hit him!’ (Bill tells Jack to hit a third person.)
Jack said: ‘Bill, hit him!’ (Jack tells Bill to hit a third person.)
Jack said Bill hit him. (Two possible meanings—Jack claims it was Bill—and not someone else—who hit Jack, or Jack claims that Bill hit a third person.)
Jack said Bill hit him. (Jack claims Bill hit Jack.)
14. My
name is fink
And what do you think
I will give you a shave for nothing
And give you a drink
My name is fink
And what! Do you think
I will give you a shave for nothing
And give you a drink?
15. i.
I re-covered my sofa. ii. I recovered my sofa.
16. i.
What are you doing! ii. What are you doing?
17.
18. 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?
Jane
Unfortunately, John was far from pleased. In fact, he was heartbroken. You see,
John was familiar with Jane's peculiar ways of misusing punctuation marks. And
so to decipher the true meaning of her email, he had to re-read it with the
marks altered:
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,
Jane
19. I was told the following in an English
class back in school:
“I
helped my uncle jack off (masturbate) a horse.”
Instead
of:
“I
helped my uncle Jack, off a horse.”
Gave
us all quite a laugh at the time!
20. All the faith he had had
had had no effect on the outcome of his life.
21. Jake,
while John had had "had", had had "had had". "Had
had" had had a better effect on their teacher.
22. They
had five children.
The 1st was called January. The 2nd
was called February. The 3rd was called March. The 4th
was named April. What was the name of the fifth.
23. Two boys were born to the same mother at the
same time, same day, same month and year, still they were not twins. How?
24. What
are the names of the week that begin with the letter ‘T’? today, tomorrow,
Tuesday thursday
………………………………
Usage of Comma
1. When two separate
clauses connect using conjunctions
like or, but,
yet, and, so, for. Note that if they come in the same clause, there is no need
to add the comma. Let’s see a few examples:
·
I was going to play the
role, but she replaced me in the play.
·
We practiced day and
night, yet we lost the match.
·
She scored an excellent
grade, so mom took her for a party.
·
I could come to your
house or, we could go to Tracy’s. (We could go to your house or Tracy’s – Note
how in this sentence the clause hasn’t changed which is why there is no comma
before the conjunction)
2. A comma separates
different objects in the same sentence
·
Food, clothing, and
shelter are the three basic human needs.
·
Our school is
participating in the inter-school football, cricket and volleyball matches held at DPS.
Note: Don’t
separate the subject and verb using the camera as is done often. Example – My friend Mila,
is a wonderful dancer – This is an incorrect sentence. The correct way to write
this is – My friend Mila is a wonderful dancer.
3. Comma after
introductory clauses
If the
beginning of a sentence is with an adverbial phrase, it’s often followed by a
comma but it doesn’t have to be, especially if it’s short. As a thumb rule, if
the phrase is longer than about four words, use the comma. You can also use
a comma with a shorter phrase when you want to emphasize it or add a pause for
literary effect. So, this one is more like the grammar of your choice and what sounds better.
·
Clutching her purse,
Martha ran out of the cafe. Perplexed by her friend’s sudden change in mood,
Bruno stayed surprised.
·
After the concert, John
was signing autographs.
·
In front of the garden,
there is a candy shop.
·
Without knowing the
full story, she wrote the article about it.
·
In 1992, life was very
different than now.
·
Suddenly, a giant
crocodile appeared in the sapphire water.
Note: A
sentence can be misread and the meanings can completely be changed if not for
the comma. For example:
4. Comma before a
question tag
This one, I’m
sure, you have noticed before. A question tag is nothing but a short
phrase or maybe just a single word that is added at the end of a statement to
turn it into a question. Question tags are often used to encourage readers to
agree with them. A question
tag should be preceded by a comma,
as a thumb rule.
·
The Sun rises from the
East, right?
·
These quaint houses are
beautiful, aren’t they?
·
Ladakh looks so
wonderful, doesn’t it?
5. Commas as interrupters
or for enclosing details
Sometimes
thoughts intervene within a sentence and that is conveyed using a comma. These
are called Interrupters. Interrupters are small thoughts that come up in the
middle of a sentence to show emotion, tone, or emphasis. A phrase that adds
extra information to the sentence but could be removed without changing the
meaning of the sentence. These elements are used in a sentence using commas.
·
She was, apparently, the
jolliest person in the room. –Notice how you can practically remove the
word between the commas and the sentence can still be complete, minus a certain
emotion.
·
My sister, unlike me, is
very well-behaved.
·
The music, I was happy
to see, was becoming more folkish in the night.
6. Commas are used in
dates
There are different
ways to write a date. When writing a date in month-day-year format, write
the year with commas. Also, if you are referencing to a day of the week and a
date, use a comma.
·
On Monday, May 16, there
will be a written exam conducted for all students of grade 9 of Mount Mary’s
school. Please attend the revision lectures on Friday, May 13, 2018, to get on
top of all your subject knowledge studied so far.
·
August 15, 1947, was an
important day in Indian history. My grandfather was born on Sunday, August 10,
1947.
7. Use commas before a
making a direct quote from someone
There’s such a
thing called an attributive tag which is nothing but phrases like “he said” or
“she claimed”. They identify the speaker of a quote or part of
someone’s dialogue. These tags can come before, after, or even in the
middle of a quote. Always remember to use commas to separate attributive tags
from quotations. Let’s see a few examples to understand this better:
·
“You are a big monster
with black horns on your head!” my sister yelled.
·
The ambassador said,
“These flowers are of top-notch quality in America.”
·
“If you know how to bake
a cake,” Pranali said, “you know how to win the hearts of all human beings.”
·
“My uncle was a great
warrior in the Kargil war,” my friend remarked.
·
“When you come out of
the bathroom,” my mother yelled, “don’t leave the floor all wet!”
8. Comma while using the
words/phrases – too, such as, as well as:
When it comes
to certain connecting words, there’s a way to use a comma there as well. When
there are two clauses enlisted while using the phrase “as well as”, always use
a comma.
·
Butter, as well as
cheese, adds intense aroma and flavor to any food item.
When we are
introducing multiple things using the phrase “such as”, we use a comma.
·
Amphibians, such as frogs,
snakes, and lizards hibernate for weeks together.
Well, now that
you know where to use the comma, go ahead and try some examples yourself.
All the best!
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