Does proper punctuation matter?

Richie

Richie

Richie

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Sitting here about to leave for work when I noticed a story on the BBC News TV programme just now. It refers to the Waterstones book company dropping the apostrophe from their name and asking people the question:

"Does proper punctuation matter today?"

They used 2 similar sentences:

1. Breakfast at its best
2. Breakfast at it's best

and asked members of the public what is correct or if it really matters what is used.


  • So does poor punctuation = lazy (as in too lazy to learn it as well as too lazy to use it if you know how to)?
  • Does it matter, if you can understand what is being written regardless of the poor punctuation?


I suppose I could throw this open to poor grammar/spelling e.g. there/their or the use of the word "draw" where it should be "drawer" e.g. "top draw material" when it should be "top drawer material"
 
I can see why people might think that dropping the odd apostrophe isnt a problem but if you are talking about punctuation as a whole then yes it does matter for examle what if you are trying to read a reply to the post and there were no commas no semicolons no hyphens or dashes or anything it would be a total mess and you would have a headache by the end of it wouldnt you well I would anyway so if reading a post is a bit of a struggle then you are not going to enjoy reading a whole book with no punctuation because it would just be a ballache so in summary yes I think poor punctuation is lazy and indicates sloppiness or a lack of understanding by the person who is doing the writing and yes it does matter because whilst I can read back the above and understand it I wouldnt want to
 
Lopéz said:
I can see why people might think that dropping the odd apostrophe isnt a problem but if you are talking about punctuation as a whole then yes it does matter for examle what if you are trying to read a reply to the post and there were no commas no semicolons no hyphens or dashes or anything it would be a total mess and you would have a headache by the end of it wouldnt you well I would anyway so if reading a post is a bit of a struggle then you are not going to enjoy reading a whole book with no punctuation because it would just be a ballache so in summary yes I think poor punctuation is lazy and indicates sloppiness or a lack of understanding by the person who is doing the writing and yes it does matter because whilst I can read back the above and understand it I wouldnt want to
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I see what you did there.
 
There is a very distinct reason for punctuation and I'm frankly horrified people are even debating their usefulness. :mad:
 
Unfortunately due to the very nature of the English language and the increasing speed of peoples lives (Internet frankly), language will continue to shorten and lose certain punctuations.
 
Punctuation is very important. I think basic punctuation should be used by everyone - although, in my opinion, things like dropping the possessive apostrophe from Waterstones is quite sensible. Generally, if you don't use capital letters, commas, full stops and apostrophes then you're being lazy and expecting your reader to do extra work in order to decipher your writing.
 
Edrof said:
Punctuation is very important. I think basic punctuation should be used by everyone - although, in my opinion, things like dropping the possessive apostrophe from Waterstones is quite sensible. Generally, if you don't use capital letters, commas, full stops and apostrophes then you're being lazy and expecting your reader to do extra work in order to decipher your writing.
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Why is dropping the apostrophe from 'Waterstone's' sensible? They should be setting an example, not pandering to dumbing down.

I have also seen their Wigan branch put signs up with apostrophe errors. Frankly, not good enough for a book store.
 
simpletom said:
Why is dropping the apostrophe from 'Waterstone's' sensible? They should be setting an example, not pandering to dumbing down.

I have also seen their Wigan branch put signs up with apostrophe errors. Frankly, not good enough for a book store.
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because everyone thinks the store is called "Waterstones" - web searching for one is a reason why the company name should be what people think it is
 
simpletom said:
Why is dropping the apostrophe from 'Waterstone's' sensible? They should be setting an example, not pandering to dumbing down.

I have also seen their Wigan branch put signs up with apostrophe errors. Frankly, not good enough for a book store.
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Tim Waterstone's bookstore.

Waterstones: the bookstore.

I prefer the first myself. Don't see why they dropped it in all honesty.
 
One thing I don't understand is why people get so angry when you correct their grammar. I run a twitter bot that corrects people and nearly everyone who replies is incredibly irate.Why?
 
RomanNose said:
One thing I don't understand is why people get so angry when you correct their grammar. I run a twitter bot that corrects people and nearly everyone who replies is incredibly irate.Why?
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Because people don't like to feel that they are wrong and stupid.

By all means, continue! I wish I had something like this for Facebook :)
 
simpletom said:
Why is dropping the apostrophe from 'Waterstone's' sensible? They should be setting an example, not pandering to dumbing down.
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It is an unnecessary 30-year throwback to Tim Waterstone's original shop - I don't even think he has anything to do with the chain now. The English language is constantly evolving and sometimes it's sensible to omit what is, frankly, a defunct punctuation mark (that most of the country probably never even noticed, let alone used).
 
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Of course punctuation can be important but if the meaning is clear then that is even more important irrespective of whether the sentence is perfect grammatically.

My general advice would be that if you're unsure about the possessive apostrophe then don't put it in, simply adding a grocer's (sic) apostrophe at all times suggests you don't really understand the point of the apostrophe there and not understanding is fine but don't put it in in the hopes that one time in a dozen it'll be the right option. While we're on the subject "it's" is merely a contraction of it is/it was/it has - it does not indicate possession.
 
It's important all the time.

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