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I know I'm not exactly the Queen of Punctuation here, but I know that much.
Most of the time when people ask for punctuation help (well, they never do, always for grammar help, but punctuation is often what they mean) their real problem is the fact that they have too many commas.
Now, of course, there are any number of different schools of thought regarding the comma. At this point in my post you have a choice. You can go back to school and learn to punctuate properly or you can follow the "do I take a breath there" rule. The "take a breath" rule isn't perfect, and it sure won't allow you to distinguish between commas and semicolons and the like, but what it will do is allow you to avoid sentences like this:
I was, going, out to the, store.
Or like this:
I went, up the street, and then I saw a magic cowboy, and I, said I liked it.
Or this:
I,,,,, was,,,, typing,,, c,o,mm,a,s, with, wild, aban,don.,,,
*wince*
It's better to have too few commas than too many. And if you're really in doubt it's totally okay to separate your commariffic sentence into several short-short sentences instead. Easier to read, and they pack more of a punch!
Most of the time when people ask for punctuation help (well, they never do, always for grammar help, but punctuation is often what they mean) their real problem is the fact that they have too many commas.
Now, of course, there are any number of different schools of thought regarding the comma. At this point in my post you have a choice. You can go back to school and learn to punctuate properly or you can follow the "do I take a breath there" rule. The "take a breath" rule isn't perfect, and it sure won't allow you to distinguish between commas and semicolons and the like, but what it will do is allow you to avoid sentences like this:
I was, going, out to the, store.
Or like this:
I went, up the street, and then I saw a magic cowboy, and I, said I liked it.
Or this:
I,,,,, was,,,, typing,,, c,o,mm,a,s, with, wild, aban,don.,,,
*wince*
It's better to have too few commas than too many. And if you're really in doubt it's totally okay to separate your commariffic sentence into several short-short sentences instead. Easier to read, and they pack more of a punch!
