Punctuation Pointers Archives

Whistler’s Apostrophe Challenge

I visited beautiful Whistler, British Columbia, last week and loved everything about it–except perhaps for its free-spirited use and avoidance of apostrophes. Its businesses’ signs kept my writing teacher’s mind spinning. Here’s a challenge for you: See if you can determine which of the signs… continue reading

10 Places to Ignore Your Grammar and Spelling Checker

You check your documents electronically to try to catch every error. But your grammar and spelling checker may be giving you bad advice. Because it’s a software program, it can’t read your mind or know your intentions. Also, it can’t always distinguish between correct and incorrect… continue reading

Punctuation Pointers

What Some Got Right About My Birthday: The Comma

I celebrated my birthday last month. Southwest Airlines got it right. TIAA did too. And a few good people on LinkedIn did as well. My dentist was among those who got it wrong. What some got right was the comma: Happy birthday, Lynn! That greeting… continue reading

The $10 Million Serial Comma–Why Not Use It?

Please explain to me why people don’t use the serial comma. When millions of dollars can be drained away in a lawsuit because of its absence, why would anyone not use it? To be clear, these examples show the serial, or Oxford, comma and its role… continue reading

Can You Find The Errors? Try These Error Quests

Each of the three short passages below has one error. Can you find all three? Test your skills. Passage 1: I just saw the schedule for the conference, and I am frustrated because Caren and Priya’s presentations take place at the same time. If I… continue reading

Review: Grammarly’s Spelling and Grammar Checker

As a writing expert who relies on Microsoft’s grammar and spelling checker to flag what I don’t see, I was eager to test Grammarly’s power to find additional errors. I signed up for the premium version and tested it to the max. I wanted to… continue reading

Punctuation Pointers

How Do I Add 1/4 Teaspoon Salt/Pepper?

Making my Thanksgiving salad dressing, I read in the list of ingredients "1/4 teaspoon salt/pepper." Because both condiments are named, I am going to assume that the recipe author meant this: 1/4 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. pepper But why not say that? With the slash, "salt/pepper"… continue reading

A Sales Flyer in Need of Hyphens

On a morning walk, I picked up a sales flyer for a luxury building–luxurious except for the missing hyphens. How many hyphens would you insert in the passage below? Feel free to list your hyphenated words. Stunning stand alone home. Striking design and functionality come… continue reading

using commas with appositives with example of "My husband, Michael, gets copies of my email."

My Husband Comma Michael Comma

Over the 10+ years of writing this business writing blog, I’ve been consistent about virtually all my style, punctuation, and grammar choices. But there’s one comma rule I’ve flip-flopped on: my husband Michael my husband, Michael, I have just one husband. His name is Michael. In a… continue reading

Punctuation Pointers

Are You a Punctuation Master?

Punctuation experts: See whether you can find a variety of punctuation errors sprinkled throughout the business letter below. In some places, punctuation is missing; in others, it’s unnecessary or wrong. Find and correct the errors, but do not change the wording. ******************************* Dear Professor Donaldson, Kate Michaels… continue reading