The Seven Not-So-Deadly Sins of Punctuation

Ever notice how many things come in sevens? We have the seven continents [1], seven seas, seven days of the week, Snow White’s seven dwarves, seven colors of a rainbow [2], George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” The Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal, The Seven Year Itch, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And speaking of movie sevens, we have Se7en, with its grisly depiction of the seven famous deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride [3]. So today we’re going to talk about seven other sins, just as vile and lethal as Se7en’s seven: The Seven Deadly Sins of Punctuation!

Hmm …

Okay, maybe that’s getting a little carried away. After all, I doubt that bad punctuation has ever killed anyone [4]. Instead, let’s call these the “seven not-so-deadly sins of punctuation.” And what makes these punctuation sins so bad? It’s not just that every authority on English writing agrees that they’re mistakes, but also because when we commit them, either through carelessness or ignorance, we risk sending a message to our readers that we’re either careless or ignorant, and neither message is good. We want all of our writing, even our lowly punctuation, to give our readers a good impression of us.

#1: Redundant Colons and Verbs

Not-So-Deadly Sin: The seven deadly sins are: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

When we use a colon (:) to introduce a list (as in the sentence above), the colon replaces a verb (for example, are, is, has, or includes). In other words, having a colon and a verb in such sentences is redundant. The sentence works just fine (and correctly) as The seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Or, alternatively, The seven classic deadly sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. [5]

It’s not only verbs that colons replace. For example, in this sentence—Top contractors agree: the difference is clear—the colon is replacing the word that, so it would also be wrong to write this: Top contractors agree that: the difference is clear.

#2: Semicolons Introducing Lists

Not-So-Deadly Sin: The seven deadly sins; lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

In certain situations, colons and semicolons (;) are almost interchangeable, but not when introducing lists. Using a semicolon to introduce a list, as in the sentence above, is always wrong. If we desperately want to use a semicolon, we can rephrase the sentence: There are seven deadly sins; they are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. But this, while not wrong, is wordy and wants to be edited into something shorter.

#3: Four-or-More-Dot Ellipses

Not-So-Deadly Sin: But this………wants to be edited into something shorter.

When we remove words from a direct quote, we insert an ellipsis (…) to show where we’ve removed the words. In our example above, we’ve removed “, while not wrong, is wordy and” from the sentence. But an ellipsis, by definition, consists of three closely spaced dots, with a standard space at either end. Not four dots, not five dots, and not, as in the example, nine dots. The sentence should be written as But this … wants to be edited into something shorter.

Ellipses are also used to hesitantly end a sentence (I put that submittal somewhere …). Again, just three dots. [6]

#4: Unseparated Appositives

Not-So-Deadly Sin: Meiling Chan, the project designer is the featured speaker about project delivery.

Sometimes, when we talk about a person, a place, or a thing, we add a little extra information that’s useful, but not necessary. That extra bit is called an appositive [7]. In the sentence above, “the project designer” is an appositive. It’s useful information, since it gives Meiling Chan more credibility as a speaker, but it’s not essential. Without it, the sentence is still conveying the same core information (Meiling Chan is the featured speaker). To tell our readers that the appositive is another way of describing her, it must be separated by commas at both ends from the rest of the sentence:

Meiling Chan, the project designer, is the featured speaker about project delivery.

The same is true if the person’s name is followed by an alphabet soup of memberships and certifications, whether just one (Meiling Chan, AIA, is the featured speaker) or many (Meiling Chan, AIA, CSI, LEED AP, DBIA, ACHA, is the featured speaker).

#5: Apostrophes for Plurals

Not-So-Deadly Sin: RFI’s, ASI’s, and CCD’s are often used during construction.  

Apostrophes have two primary uses: to show possession or relationship (e.g., Hugo’s RFI response was confusing, but he said the RFI’s wording was confusing.) or for contractions (e.g., I can’t answer the RFI until it’s been sensibly rewritten.). It shouldn’t be used to show plurals except for individual letters (e.g., I got two A’s, two B’s, and three C’s on my report card.). This exception avoids confusion; without an apostrophe, the plurals of A (or a), I (or i), and U (or u) would look like the words As, as, Is, is, Us, and us. But it shouldn’t be used for any other plurals, so the example above should be RFIs, ASIs, and CCDs are often used during construction. Also, plurals of numerals and years don’t need apostrophes (e.g., The 2010s have, so far, been a weird decade.) 

Intermission: A Few Words about American and British Punctuation

Since separating politically 234 years ago [8], the United States and the United Kingdom have also been drifting apart physically (by around 30 feet) as well as linguistically. Most of us are familiar with the different spellings (e.g., color vs. colour) and vocabularies (e.g., elevator vs. lift), but punctuation also has gone in different directions. As a result, we have American English (AE) and British English (BE) [9] versions for the last two not-so-deadly sins.

#6: Double and Single Quotation Marks    

Not-So-Deadly Sin (AE): Henry asked, ‘Which scheme did the client prefer?’

Not-So-Deadly Sin (BE): Henry asked, “Which scheme did the client prefer?”

In AE, double quotation marks are the standard, while in BE, single quotation marks are standard. Thus, the sentences above should be (in AE) “Which scheme did the client prefer?” and (in BE) ‘Which scheme did the client prefer?’ In other words, they are the opposite of each other, quotation-mark-wise.

For writers of AE, here’s something else to remember: Double quotation marks are standard no matter how short the quoted text. Double quotation marks are correctly used in this sentence: Did the client prefer Scheme “A” or Scheme “B”?

When quoted text is nested within quoted text, AE uses single quotation marks for the nested text, while BE uses double quotation marks:

(AE) Henry asked, “Did the client prefer Scheme ‘A’ or Scheme ‘B’?”

(BE) Henry asked, ‘Did the client prefer Scheme “A” or Scheme “B”?’

#7: Commas, Periods, and Quotation Marks

Not-So-Deadly Sin (AE): Julio told us that the client liked Scheme “A”, but preferred Scheme “B”.

Not-So-Deadly Sin (BE): Julio told us that the client liked Scheme ‘A,’ but preferred Scheme ‘B.’

AE and BE position commas and periods differently relative to closing quotation marks. We’ll start with AE, because the rule is simple: With very few exceptions, always place commas and periods inside (i.e., to the left of) a closing quotation mark. Since the exceptions are rarely encountered [10], if you always follow this rule, you will almost always be right.

Julio told us that the client liked Scheme “A,” but preferred Scheme “B.”

This even applies if you have multiple quotation marks piled up at the end of a sentence:

Julio said, “The client liked Scheme ‘A,’ but preferred Scheme ‘B.’”

I know this doesn’t seem to make sense, since neither the comma nor the period have anything to do with the quoted text, but we who write in AE should be thankful, because we don’t have to think about where to put the commas and periods; they always go inside the closing quotation marks. The BE way, on the other hand, is also called the logical system because it does make sense. It’s also harder to explain and takes more thought.

Using BE, the commas and periods usually fall outside (i.e., to the right) of closing quotation marks:

           Julio told us that the client liked Scheme ‘A’, but preferred Scheme ‘B’.

However, if a sentence-ending period is part of the quoted text, then it falls to the left of the quotation mark. In the next example, the comma is outside the “A” quotation marks, while the period, which belongs with Julio’s statement, falls outside the “B” quotation marks but inside the sentence-ending quotation mark:

Julio said, ‘The client liked Scheme “A”, but preferred Scheme “B”.’

To complicate things, sometimes Americans do it sort of the British way [11]. Wikipedia, for example, for its English-language site uses the American system of prioritizing double quotation marks, but the British system for placing commas and periods relative to quotation marks. And even British publications vary in how they apply the BE standard [12].

Go, and Sin No More

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that all punctuation is governed by strict, unbending rules. Quite the opposite is true: A lot of punctuation is determined by style decisions that can vary among publishers, editors, and writers. But each of these seven not-so-deadly punctuation sins is universally recognized by writing authorities as a mistake. And while none of them may be literally fatal, they can still hurt us. For documents, such as resumes and proposals, that can affect our careers or our businesses, these kinds of mistakes can make the difference between getting the job and being tossed in the reject pile. And for contracts or contract documents, the consequences can be worse: An incorrect punctuation mark can result in a costly ambiguity. On the other hand, in casual emails and text messages to friends, these sins are easily overlooked. So, as with all our writing, we have to consider who is likely to read it. However, if there is any chance that our punctuation will matter, then we want to avoid these sins.

Follow the author on Twitter @bill_schmwil.

Footnotes:

[1] Even as a kid, I thought geography books’ insistence on calling Europe and Asia separate continents rather arbitrary. Is there is a size limit on continents, I wondered, and Eurasia is just too big?

[2] It was Isaac Newton who codified red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet as a rainbow’s seven colors, but he may have decided on seven more because of the number’s importance to ancient Greek philosophers than because he saw seven distinct colors. As another Isaac—Asimov—has said, “It has never seemed to me that indigo is worth the dignity of being considered a separate color.” In fact, the bands of colors we seem to see in a rainbow are the result of our minds trying to make sense of a continuous gradation of color.

[3] This specific list of seven sins is not found in the Bible. It wasn’t until 590 CE that Pope Gregory I took a bunch of earlier sin lists (which included, in addition to the big seven, despair, dejection, and boasting) and created the modern list.

[4] Or maybe it has: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2zkmYQCskM

[5] Things get trickier when introducing a list of bulleted items. Is the following example right or wrong?

The seven deadly sins are

• lust,
• gluttony,
• greed,
• sloth,
• wrath,
• envy, and
• pride.

Because this list is written as a sentence, with the bulleted items listed vertically instead of horizontally, it could be punctuated as if it were a sentence (i.e., no colon), as recommended by the authoritative Chicago Manual of Style. But so many writers, even in professionally edited books, use the colon after the verb that it’s now a matter of choice. To avoid controversy, you can rephrase the introductory statement (punctuating the list as a sentence is optional):

The seven deadly sins are as follows:

• lust 
• gluttony
• greed
• sloth
• wrath
• envy
• pride

 [6] Making ellipses using Microsoft Word is easy. Just type three periods, and it will make a linked three-dot ellipsis for you.

 [7] There’s no quiz, so you don’t need to remember appositive. If you understand the concept, you don’t need the word.

[8] The 13 colonies may have considered themselves independent in 1776, but it wasn’t until the 1783 Treaty of Paris that the United Kingdom recognized the United States as an independent nation.

[9] Canadian English generally follows AE’s punctuation conventions, while Australian and New Zealander English generally follow BE’s conventions.

[10] One exception we may occasionally encounter: When giving someone editing instructions for contracts, what falls inside quotation marks should be exactly what is to be revised. For example, if I want to revise the previous sentence, I might write, Instead of “contracts”, write “agreements”. If I put the comma and period inside the quotation marks (Instead of “contracts,” write “agreements.”), my instruction, followed exactly, would result in this incorrect sentence: When giving someone editing instructions for agreements. what falls inside quotation marks should be exactly what is to be revised.

[11] You might be thinking that the British have always punctuated as they do now, and it was the rebellious Americans who abandoned the mother country’s ways, but it’s not so simple. In fact, the trans-Atlantic difference in punctuation can be blamed on (or credited to, depending on how you see things) one man. Once upon a time, until the late 1800s, British and Americans were punctuating as Americans do now, using double quotation marks and putting commas and periods inside closing quotation marks. Then, in 1893, Horace Hart, Oxford University’s printer, published his Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press Oxford, which included—for the university’s publications—what are now the British punctuation standards. The book was quickly and tremendously influential—in the United Kingdom. Americans, on the other hand, collectively said, “Never mind. We’ll just keep doing things the way we always have,” leaving us with two punctuation systems. Which is better? Each has something going for it. The British way of starting with single quotation marks takes up slightly less space, while the placement of commas and periods makes sense. The American way of using double quotation marks keeps readers from confusing closing quotation marks with apostrophes (Did Lisa say, ‘The girls’ restroom is painted the same color as the boys’’?), and while the placement of commas and periods may be illogical, it tightens up the text. Plus you don’t have to think about where to put them.

[12] Sometimes, even the British are confused by the British way of punctuating. See this article from the British newspaper The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2011/may/19/mind-your-language-punctuation-quotations