The Seven Deadly Sins of Punctuation

In punctuation paradasie, all your sentences sound oh, so nice. the seven DEADAYsins of punctuation Don't let your writing go to hell. Stay out of punctuation purgatory by avoiding these deadly faux pas. Misplacing Periods Confounding Commas Disheveling Dashes Desecrating Colons Snafuing Semicolons Corrupting Question Marks Abashing Apostrophes Periods after quotation marks Commas connecting independent clauses (Comma Splice) Spartacus wanted to pull the chariot by his teeth, he could have proven to her just how manly he really was. Missing hyphens in compound adjectives Bethany's twenty year-old friends danced like there was no Colons before lists when the Quotation marks to hightlight information We only serve "fresh" food at Ernie's Elegant Eatery. Semicolons instead of colons Apostrophes on possessive pronouns Don't give your dog it's grammar book or it'll get smarter than you. After we ate, Cameron explicitly told me to "not drink the water". clause can't stand on its own Despite what she told police, Yolanda vehemently insisted that all she had on her was: a Tonly eat three kinds of pizza; mushroom, pepperoni, and tuna with onion. Periods in common acronyms tomorrow. berry smoothie, a rabbit's foot, and a ball of slime from the U.S.A. Semicolons instead of commas Quotation marks without Missing hyphens in confusing words Because the ink ran out of Apostrophes on plural (not possessive) last names Merry Christmas from the Johnson's! And Happy New Year U.C.L.A. Penelope styles her hair in simple, traditional styles: ponytails; braids; and curls. reference to who said it T.V. quarter machine. "The best dance and ballet Missing Oxford Comma (when we really need one) With gratitude, I dedicate this book to my amazing parents, Sophie Jones and God. C.D.-R.O.M. studio this side of the Sierra C.N.N. Doctor Mertle's pen while signing the prescription, he decided to resign. (re-sign) Colons after headings Nevadas!" from the Curtis'! Education: Semicolons without indepedent Periods instead of ellipses When I think too hard, I begin to drift away into the land of the pretty lillies and unicorns... Apostrophes before the 's' on plural possessives Camille thinks staying at her grandparent's house is the bomb; Nana and Papa rock! clauses on both sides Quotation marks Work Experience: When Bubbles McFluffles told instead of italics Hyphens instead of em dashes Quiet Kevin - the guy we swore wouldn't ever do anything mean to anybody -totally just photobombed that nice couple's wedding. Henrietta lived a full life; she sailed on the "Titanic," she read all of "The Great Gatsby," and she even starred in an episode on “Friends" before she died. Santa that the elves deserved Commas between Skills: flavored hot chocolate during months and years It was July, 1996 when Humphrey super-glued that chair to his behind; it's been a long twenty years since. their breaks; Santa hit the roof. Periods inside parentheses (when they should be outside) When Jamie left work, she said she didn't feel well (but her chipper demeanor told me she was full of lies.) Commas instead of colons in headings I'm dying to go see Professor Gloppendoff's compelling presentation, "Buck Dynasty, the Amazing Expansion of the Amer- ican Male Deer," on Friday. Missing Semicolons in Complex Lists Dad's crazy road trip took over the country: Dubuque, lowa, Kamas, Utah, Clemson, South Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon. Apostrophes after 's' on plural nouns That's the childrens' hot dog pile. all Hyphens instead of en dashes Ned's résumé boasted of his time working as a snake mker at the zoo from 2010-2013 ut we all know he really only d it for nine months before gehg Double quotation marks in a quote within a quote Jimbo recounted the story perfectly: "Mary-Lou was all up in arms when she shouted, "you double-dipped!" and then began ranting about how "nasty" that Commas outside Apostrophes on plural abbreviations and years Uncle Rico just bought twenty DVD's from the 1990's. quotation marks Periods before "Please don't lick the in-text citations According to agraphic design guru, "Once you can name something, you're conscious of it." (Williams 12) stalagmites", she said, shortly after Jimbo started complaining about his tongue eroding. canned. was." In punctuation purgatory, bad mechanics make for a sick, ugly story. TheVisualCommunicationGuy.com | 2014