As noted in my newsletter, these punctuation mistakes are among the many people make regularly. Don’t follow the blunderers — be a leader and punctuate properly. Here’s how.
1. Misplacing apostrophes when referring to decades.
Example: the 70’s
Revised: the ’70s, the 1970s, or the seventies
The plural form of “seventies” shouldn’t be used in a possessive form. With the apostrophe in front of the numbers, we clarify that it’s a shortened form of the 1970s.
2. Placing hyphens between words that shouldn’t be hyphenated. When in doubt, check your dictionary; generally, you hyphenate words to avoid confusion in understanding the meaning of a sentence.
Example: “Fireworks light-up the night.”
Revised: “Fireworks light up the night” or “Fireworks light the night.”
However, “light-up backpack” (a backpack with lights) is acceptable, compared to “light up backpack,” which can have more than one meaning.
3. Using semicolons for items in a series. Semicolons and commas provide appropriate pauses between words and sentences, but they’re used differently. Commas separate independent clauses and items in a series, etc.; semicolons create a pause between sentences in place of a period.
Example: oranges; apples; bananas; pears; and grapes.
Revised: oranges, apples, bananas, pears, and grapes or oranges, apples, bananas, pears and grapes
4. Putting only one apostrophe (or none) in place of “and” between two nouns in informal writing.
Examples: rock ‘n roll; rock n roll
Revised: rock ‘n’ roll — the slang term, or “rock and roll” if you’re “old school.”
5. Using dashes to introduce items in a series. Use a colon (:) instead.
Example: Computer skills — graphic design and editing, HTML programming, Internet browsing, and email.
Revised: Computer skills: graphic design and editing, HTML programming, Internet browsing, and email.
What do you think? Does certain punctuation cause problems for you? Which errors do you see most often?
And if you need help with your own punctuation, I can help. Don’t hesitate to contact me.
