by Addie Panveno

Created on: September 19, 2011

English is considered by many to be among the hardest of all languages to learn.  This is in part because of its complicated punctuation rules.  Even native speakers struggle with proper usage which is only punctuated [see what I did there] by the slow bastardization of the English language due to modern technology. OMG. Here we take a look at the top five worst indiscretions:

It’s so misunderstood

The misusage of “its” vs. “it’s” is a sore spot for grammaphiles, especially on the interwebs.  Entire websites have been dedicated to this apostrophic faux pas, as well as to the sticklers for its proper handling.  The easiest way to remember this rule is to think of the apostrophe’s actual purpose.  With contraction words, it is used to replace a letter or series of letters, thus shortening the word.  In this example “it is” is shortened to “it’s” with the apostrophe taking the spot of the extra “i”.  “Its” without the apostrophe is used as a possessive, as in “the apostrophe is known for its ability to confuse people”.

I do exclaim!

Exclamation points (or marks) are another example of a perfectly happy piece of punctuation that has been slowly degraded over the years.  Used to punctuate an interjection or exclamation with strong feeling or loud volume, its usage hasn’t changed, but is now taken to the nth degree. OMG! Kenny is so cute! And while Kenny may be indeed adorable, the eleven exclamation points that follow are a bit overkill.  In fact, Kenny’s cuteness may be lost to many of your Facebook friends as their eyes bleed over your posts if they all include such horrible punctuation infractions.

To quote a great man…

Quotation marks are one of the few pieces of punctuation that can actually be fun.  Traditionally, just as it sounds, quotation marks are used to “quote” a person or cite a source.  But in modern language, quotes can be used for great acts of snark, sarcasm, and mockery.  However, whether you are using quotation marks for good or evil, they should be used correctly.  Quotations should not used to emphasize “random” words in your thought [see what I did there], and even if you are trying to be ironic, they should only be used when referencing someone/thing else.  Unless you’re Gabrielle using air quotes, in which case it’s

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