Writing Tips from Prompt Proofing - Punctuate with Care!

Commas, semicolons and periods give us natural pauses and are there for a very good reason.

2013-06-21

VANCOUVER, BC, June 21, 2013 (Press-News.org) Yes, punctuation really does matter - consider the following:

"Let's eat, Grandma!"

as opposed to

"Let's eat Grandma!" (Oh, those adorable little cannibals!)

Commas, semicolons and periods give us natural pauses and are there for a very good reason. Used correctly, they make sentences more readable - used incorrectly, they make for frustrating reading and possible misunderstandings.

Commas can serve different purposes but they frequently separate lists and clauses:

In front of her was an array of precious jewels that would dazzle the eye of the most jaded beholder: emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

After a romantic dinner, the honeymooners took a leisurely stroll on the Ponte Vecchio.

The company director, whose office is in New York, is coming to Phoenix for a conference next week.

When a clause comes at the beginning or end of the sentence, only one comma is needed (see sentence #2 above). When it is embedded, the entire clause must be enclosed by commas - as in sentence #3. To check if your commas are correctly placed, simply 'lift' the clause out of the sentence - the sentence should make perfect sense with out the clause.

Semicolons can be used to join two shorter sentences that are closely linked:

By mid-afternoon they were exhausted; however, they had made significant progress.

They can also be used to separate lists that contain items that may themselves need to be separated by commas:

This year we welcome international students from France, Belgium and Italy in Europe; China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam in Asia; Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama in Central America and - of course - from our own neighbour to the south, the United States.

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Writing Tips from Prompt Proofing - Punctuate with Care!

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