Fun Stuff - a reward for all your hard work.

The last lesson in this punctuation section shows some fun examples.

Here we have a lighthearted look at punctuation it as a reward for going through all that heavy section before we show how very small changes in punctuation can make huge changes in meaning.

For example a comma can really make a difference I laugh at fools like Hugh now the words we are similar and we both laugh at fools.

If we miss out the comma I laugh at fools like you.

Which means I laugh at fools.

And you’re one of them big difference in meaning or let’s eat granny.

So here we’re suggesting to granny that we eat we miss out the comma we get let’s eat granny which is suggesting that we granny Poor granny or if you have several plans and you separate the different things with a comma as correctly shown here.

My plans are watching little sister shower.

Then off to the cinema.

So three things I’m doing watching little sister then I’m having a shower then I’m off to the cinema.

If we miss out the commas my plans are watching little sister shower.

Then off to the cinema to actually looks like your plan is watching your little sister’s shower which is probably not what was meant or another interesting one.

Most of the time travellers worry about their luggage which I think is probably true these days.

But if we miss out the comma we end up with that most of the time travellers worry about their luggage.

So we have time travellers.

That’s interesting.

or putting a colon in the wrong place can have a huge difference.

Attention employees toxic.

This is a warning to the employees about something poisonous if we get the code on in the wrong place we get attention employees toxic which is warning people that the employees are poisonous or a similar one cautioned pedestrians Slippery When Wet.

This is warning the pedestrians to be careful where they’re walking when it’s wet.

It could be slippery forget the code on the new wrong place.

Caution pedestrians Slippery When Wet.

So this is a warning that when the pedestrians are wet they get slippery.

That’s that’s just silly.

And you also need the right number of full stops so here for instance love people cook them tasty food services same.

Be nice to people cook them some tasty food is a nice thing to do if we get a full stop in the wrong place.

Love people cook them tasty food that’s sort of cannibalism isn’t it or we are hiring new fish recipes to two pieces of information.

The first is we are hiring I looking for more staff and additional information is oh we have some new fish recipes as well.

If we forget the full stop we are hiring new fish recipes which doesn’t make sense at all.

Or as a warning sign on the road slow children at play.

So telling drivers to slow down their children playing and one might run into the street.

So be careful.

If we get the full stops wrong slow.

Children at play.

Doesn’t sound as good.

Does it.

all those examples we’ve just seen are real examples.

They’re not made up.

And this one is slightly made up but it’s still good.

So a class was asked to punctuate the following sentence and I read it very evenly.

No a woman without her man is nothing all the boys wrote a woman without her man is nothing and all the girls wrote a woman without her man is nothing punctuation matters.

And lastly a great definition of grammar and of course punctuation is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing your shit and you now know enough grammar to take that one apart yourselves.