Thursday is National Punctuation Day. I am teaching my sophomore about compound and complex sentences, which involve lots of commas and semicolons. I must work these in somehow!
Ode to the Comma
The female body part of punctuation,
So tiny, yet able to arouse such aggravation.
The comma slips in under the quotation,
Tells you when to pause for reflection,
Then plunge ahead to the period’s conclusion.
Neglect it at your peril: accusations,
law suits, wars. Nations
fall. Pretend it doesn’t exist at all? Risk condemnation.
Treat it right for absolution.
That’s right, put it there: Yes, oh, yes . . . satisfaction.
Which letter would you rather receive?
—Gloria Rosenthal
Why punctuation is important to one’s sex life:
1. Pre-marital sex: What some people have before marriage.
2. Extra marital sex: What some people have in a happy marriage.
3. Extra-marital sex: What people have in a not-so-happy marriage.If you’re having a lot of #3, you’re probably not having a lot of #2. It all depends where you place the hyphen.
—Jeff Rubin, founder of National Punctuation Day
