Punctuation mistakes can actually be a big deal. They can decrease reader engagement in a piece of literature. They can compromise somebody's reputation in the eyes of readers who are evaluating their work online or in print. So what are the most common punctuation mistakes that people make, and how can you avoid them?
Here are some of the most frequent problems that people have with punctuation in the English language, and issue that often come up in proofreading and editing.
Possessive Apostrophes
One of the biggest and most common problems with punctuation in English involves apostrophes. Possessive apostrophes are confusing because of the ways that we use pronouns, and the use of plurals in identifying parties through pronouns.
One common example is ‘it's’ versus ‘its.’
While the contraction ‘it is’ takes an apostrophe when it becomes enjoined into ‘it’s’, the possessive does not get one. Examples:
“It's a rainy day out.”
“The cat licked its fur.”
Another example involves the word ‘yours.’
Too many people give this word an apostrophe where it doesn't belong. Some of this confusion goes back to the words ‘you're’ and ‘your’ -- the difference between the possessive ‘your’ and the contraction ‘you’re’ for ‘you are’ is one of the most bedeviling problems that English grammar and spelling have in store. So throw in the apostrophe issue for ‘yours’, and you have a toxic brew of confusion.
The best way to get around problems with possessive pronouns is to remember that when there is a letter ‘s’ on the pronoun because it is possessive, it never gets an apostrophe. Group all of these pronouns together: his, hers, theirs, yours, and its. You'll see that none of these have an apostrophe, and that's one way to remember how to punctuate correctly. Here are some more apostrophe tips from The Punctuation Guide.
Comma Splicing and Run-Ons
Another very common problem with English language punctuation involves the use of the comma.
A comma is meant to join clauses of a sentence, not to join multiple sentences together. In order to join two sentences, you need a semicolon, a colon or a period, something pros might apply in proofreading or editing poorly punctuated text.
So while something like this is okay:
In the kitchen there was a spatula, along with a knife, a spoon and fork.”
Something like this is not okay:
“I ran to the window, I looked out the window, I saw somebody coming.”
One of the easiest ways to solve this problem is to look for typical sentence construction and break sentences up accordingly. When you see the subject, object and predicate, you have a full sentence. When adding to that with a comma, do so cautiously. Get more from Purdue’s Online Writing Lab.
Punctuating Dialogue
Some people also have the temptation to punctuate dialogue in unnatural ways.
It's all right to ascribe an exclamation point or question mark to someone who's shouting, yelling or asking a question in dialogue. These go inside the quotation marks. But when you have an action verb such as ‘yelled’, ‘screamed’ or ‘shouted’, you don't add that punctuation after that word, because it's simply describing the testimony of the person who spoke. This resource from Fiction Writing looks at using punctuation correctly in dialogue.
Other Comma Issues
Why are commas so tricky in English punctuation? One reason is because they can be used in very ambiguous ways.
One good rule of thumb in writing is to use the comma to break up sentences according to spots where the speaker would take a breath. But this becomes extremely confusing, and lots of people argue over exactly where to put commas. There is a gray area, but then there's an extent to which you can see improper comma placement and how it breaks up language unnecessarily. For example:
You could say:
“Business leaders do this to change the status quo, and to try to revitalize flagging industries.”
However, you didn't particularly need the comma there, because the conjunctive word ‘and’ served quite well. This result is also correct:
“Business leaders do this to change the status quo and to try to revitalize flagging industries.”
On the other hand, take a look at this sentence:
“Business leaders do this, to change the status quo, and, to try to revitalize flagging industries.”
This example shows entirely too many commas to be considered correct punctuation.
In general, careful proofreading and editing can catch many of these mistakes. It's a good idea to keep a grammar reference book handy, but another extremely effective way to solve punctuation and grammar problems is simply to read. When reading published text, you're reading text that has already been finally proofread and edited. So you're getting real-world examples of what's okay in punctuation. You learn to follow these examples, and you almost never get tripped up by punctuation sticklers.
The bottom line is that even most native English speakers continue to learn as they read and write more, to figure out the details of a massively complicated shared syntax.
Here are some of the most frequent problems that people have with punctuation in the English language, and issue that often come up in proofreading and editing.
Possessive Apostrophes
One of the biggest and most common problems with punctuation in English involves apostrophes. Possessive apostrophes are confusing because of the ways that we use pronouns, and the use of plurals in identifying parties through pronouns.
One common example is ‘it's’ versus ‘its.’
While the contraction ‘it is’ takes an apostrophe when it becomes enjoined into ‘it’s’, the possessive does not get one. Examples:
“It's a rainy day out.”
“The cat licked its fur.”
Another example involves the word ‘yours.’
Too many people give this word an apostrophe where it doesn't belong. Some of this confusion goes back to the words ‘you're’ and ‘your’ -- the difference between the possessive ‘your’ and the contraction ‘you’re’ for ‘you are’ is one of the most bedeviling problems that English grammar and spelling have in store. So throw in the apostrophe issue for ‘yours’, and you have a toxic brew of confusion.
The best way to get around problems with possessive pronouns is to remember that when there is a letter ‘s’ on the pronoun because it is possessive, it never gets an apostrophe. Group all of these pronouns together: his, hers, theirs, yours, and its. You'll see that none of these have an apostrophe, and that's one way to remember how to punctuate correctly. Here are some more apostrophe tips from The Punctuation Guide.
Comma Splicing and Run-Ons
Another very common problem with English language punctuation involves the use of the comma.
A comma is meant to join clauses of a sentence, not to join multiple sentences together. In order to join two sentences, you need a semicolon, a colon or a period, something pros might apply in proofreading or editing poorly punctuated text.
So while something like this is okay:
In the kitchen there was a spatula, along with a knife, a spoon and fork.”
Something like this is not okay:
“I ran to the window, I looked out the window, I saw somebody coming.”
One of the easiest ways to solve this problem is to look for typical sentence construction and break sentences up accordingly. When you see the subject, object and predicate, you have a full sentence. When adding to that with a comma, do so cautiously. Get more from Purdue’s Online Writing Lab.
Punctuating Dialogue
Some people also have the temptation to punctuate dialogue in unnatural ways.
It's all right to ascribe an exclamation point or question mark to someone who's shouting, yelling or asking a question in dialogue. These go inside the quotation marks. But when you have an action verb such as ‘yelled’, ‘screamed’ or ‘shouted’, you don't add that punctuation after that word, because it's simply describing the testimony of the person who spoke. This resource from Fiction Writing looks at using punctuation correctly in dialogue.
Other Comma Issues
Why are commas so tricky in English punctuation? One reason is because they can be used in very ambiguous ways.
One good rule of thumb in writing is to use the comma to break up sentences according to spots where the speaker would take a breath. But this becomes extremely confusing, and lots of people argue over exactly where to put commas. There is a gray area, but then there's an extent to which you can see improper comma placement and how it breaks up language unnecessarily. For example:
You could say:
“Business leaders do this to change the status quo, and to try to revitalize flagging industries.”
However, you didn't particularly need the comma there, because the conjunctive word ‘and’ served quite well. This result is also correct:
“Business leaders do this to change the status quo and to try to revitalize flagging industries.”
On the other hand, take a look at this sentence:
“Business leaders do this, to change the status quo, and, to try to revitalize flagging industries.”
This example shows entirely too many commas to be considered correct punctuation.
In general, careful proofreading and editing can catch many of these mistakes. It's a good idea to keep a grammar reference book handy, but another extremely effective way to solve punctuation and grammar problems is simply to read. When reading published text, you're reading text that has already been finally proofread and edited. So you're getting real-world examples of what's okay in punctuation. You learn to follow these examples, and you almost never get tripped up by punctuation sticklers.
The bottom line is that even most native English speakers continue to learn as they read and write more, to figure out the details of a massively complicated shared syntax.