As we discussed in class, punctuation is not simply a set of rules without purpose --- and its purposes go beyond annoying us. Good use of punctuation makes you a stronger writer, since you can express yourself with clarity, power, and creativity.
Give an example or two of how punctuation can change a sentence: a made-up one, a text message, or one you find.
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Punctuation can sometimes totally change the meaning of a sentence. If don't have a comma and you need one, then your sentence could be confusing or not make sense. For example, if you say i'm going home to get some gas and then to work it could mean something different if you use commas. Saying it without commas makes you think your going home to get gas. If you used commas and said i'm going home, to get some gas, and then to work makes more sense. This shows how you are using commas to list three different things you are going to do. Even though punctuation can seem annoying at times, it's easiest if you use it properly so it makes sense and has no confusion.
Without puncuation, there would be a lot of confusion as to what people are trying to say. It may be easier not to use a comma for you however it can make reading and understanding what someone is trying to say much more difficult and could possibly even cause problems. For example, if you're driving and you see a sign that says "Slow children crossing", you would think that there are slow children crossing the road because there is no comma. The sign should say "Slow, children crossing" instead. Also, if someone is writing about a salad that contains goat cheese, walnuts, and pecans and they write "Contains goat cheese walnuts and pecans", some may think that the salad contains goats which would be a problem. All in all, correct grammar helps us understand and communicate better as a whole.
Puncuation can cause some serious problems sometimes. Without puncuation you could be writing something comepletly different, and you could end up saying something that you don't really mean. You could end up saying something, and someone could end up insulting someone. Going back to what Taylor said about the stree sign,"Slow children playing." Somebody could read that and think that there are kids up ahead that have issues, and are playing alongside of the road. If there was a comma in that sentence than it would be telling the drivers that they need to drive slowly because there are children playing.
Punctuation has a very important role in writing. If someone uses punctuation incorrectly, they could cause the meaning of their statements or questions to change completely. Just like the example given in class, when someone wrote: "Let's eat grandpa," compared to, "Let's eat grandpa," and the reason was that, "Commas save lives." These two statements mean two completely different things. The comma changes the statement from eating grandpa to telling grandpa that it is time to eat. So, commas do cause a big change in the meaning of statements and questions.
Punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence very easily. Like the example I gave in class where commas save lives. Lets eat grandpa. And, Lets eat, grandpa. indicate that you want to eat grandpa, and you want to eat with grandpa. In that sentence, if it were real, one comma would have saved grandpa's life. Also, the eat's shoots and leaves sentence can mean that he, eats, shoots, and then leaves. Or that he (the panda) eats shoots, and leaves. Commas really can save lives.
Punctuation can make a sentence sound and mean totally different once commas are added. If someone is going food shopping and they have a list made by someone else who didn't include commas, the person getting the food may end up buying the wrong stuff. For example, the person could have written on the list: get ice cream sandwiches. The person reading the list would then get the dessert ice cream sandwiches, but really the person who made the list meant get ice cream and sandwiches. Punctuation has a big role on how people talk, what signs mean and what people want.
Punctuation is very important and there are many examples to back up this theory. For example, if you were going to write a sentence saying: He bought coffee, sandwiches, cheese and soda, without commas it would sound like this: he bought coffee sndwiches cheese and soda. It makes no sense because it sounds as if he is buying coffee sanwiches,then he is buying cheese and finally soda. It changes the complete meaning. Any time you are making a list make sure to use commas because they are very important to keep the meaning of the story understandible.
Punctuation is one of the most important things in writing. Here is a classic example of punctuation changing the meaning of a statement that pertains to what were are learning in class about gender related stereotypes: A woman without her man is nothing; A woman: without her, man is nothing. The first sentence is stating that women rely on men to support them. The second is stating the opposite: that without women, the human kind would not be where it is today. This is an example of where punctuation can totally change the meaning of a sentence.
Punctuation is in a sentence to help make either a better flow or just to help it make sense. If one person said welcome to my house we have animals food clothes and more, the sentence would make no sense and a person would read it all as one. but if the person said, welcome to my house we have animals, food, and clothes the reader now knows there are seperate objects. In most cases people use puntuation correctly but when the punctuation is used incoreclty it tends to make less sense than when there was no punctuation, so in a way it can be really confusing.
Punctuation is important because it brings clarity and meaning to the disposition of a sentence. For example, it helps to make sense of the sentence(s) actual meaning through the placement of the comma in a certain part of the sentence. Commas are not only used to bring a pause or to allow space for a phrase in a sentence but also to show the way the sentence is interpreted. For Example, if a safari tourist declared “The zoo is closing soon, you should leave” the sentence would not be the same if a comma is inserted after the word closing. Both sentences would have different meanings. In the first phrase the meaning is that the zoo would be closing soon and you should be quickly leaving. In the second phrase “The zoo is closing, soon you should leave” the meaning would be that the zoo is closing right now and you should soon leave. The placement of the comma may have a differential outcome in a sentence’s grammatical meaning, as evident in the phrase, but it also has a variety of other resourceful uses. It can be used for adding phrases repeatedly for listing certain actions and for the conjunction of two simple sentences. These are some uses for a comma.
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