Is Punctuation Really that Important? You decide…

What does the speaker mean in this sentence? Now I must go and get on my lover.

What about now? Now I must go and get on, my lover.

What is the person asking here? What would you with the King?

And now? What? Would you? With the King?

What is this sentence telling us? A woman, without her man, is nothing.

And this one? A woman: without her, man is nothing.

The following is true. Can you solve this punctuation riddle? Every Lady in this land Hath 20 Nails on each Hand; Five & twenty on Hands and feet; And this is true, without deceit.

Here’s the solution: Every lady in this land has twenty nails. On each hand, five; and twenty on hands and feet.

If you had been in charge of protecting a community and received the following telegram. How would you proceed? It is under these circumstances that we feel constrained to call upon you to come to our aid. Should a disturbance arise here the circumstances are so extreme that we cannot but believe that you and the men under you will not fail to come to the rescue of people who are so situated.

Explain why the panda does this: A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. “Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. “I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.” The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation: “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

And how would you proceed if you received this one? It is under these circumstances that we feel constrained to call upon you to come to our aid Should a disturbance arise here. The circumstances are so extreme that we cannot but believe that you and the men under you will not fail to come to the rescue of people who are so situated.

Is the following possible? Charles the first walked and talked half an hour after his head was cut off.

How can punctuation resolve the confusion? Charles the first walked and talked. Half an hour after, his head was cut off.

If you were the person who received this letter, how would you feel? Dear John: I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feeling whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be happy forever – will you let me be yours? Gloria

What about this letter? Dear John: I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feeling whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be? Yours, Gloria

Finally, you should note that proper punctuation can save lives… “Let’s eat grandma!” Vs. “Let’s eat, grandma!” OR

I like cooking my family and pets.

So, is Punctuation important? By now you should see that sometimes a simple little comma or a little dot like a period can be very important to what you are trying to communicate.