This wonderful, whimsically illustrated book appears to be aimed at children, but I have a feeling I’m not the only adult who has utilized its straightforward approach to explaining proper placement of our friend the comma.
“Punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, or stop.
“Of all the punctuation marks, the comma is the most used and misused. Commas can create havoc when they are left out or are put in the wrong spot, and the results of misuse can be hilarious. This little dot with a tail has the power to change the meaning of a sentence by connecting things that shouldn’t be connected or breaking apart things that should stay together.”
Exercises:
Place commas in these sentences to create two different meanings.
1. Careful people love to check their work.
2. Sheila likes baking books and shoes.
3. Why are you folding that dear?
Now make up a few of your own:
“Eats, Shoots and Leaves” is available in hardcover:
Visit Lynn Truss’ website at: http://www.lynnetruss.com/
This is one of my favorites. It’s great fun! A colleague of mine has it on his bookshelf at work. It was a gift from several of us whose use of commas had been critiqued by him. Of course, that provoked many of us to find ways to misuse the comma.
Everyone needs a Punctuation Policeman in their life! I amuse myself with the unintended meanings of my sentences with wandering commas.
Lynn Truss’s book on the same subject for adults, “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves” will knock your socks off. I’ve used it to teach punctuation to junior and senior high schoolers. They love it. And it’s effective while using real-life instances of dreadful punctuation, lots of humor, and Truss’s wonderful British dry wit. Not to be missed. She also has an equally good one on grammar: “Talk to the Hand”.
I’ll have to look for that one. Thanks, Sarah. I really love this book. It makes me laugh every time.
I’ve got an extra loaner copy. Remind me next week.
Okay.