I've always liked puzzles. Perhaps that is why mysteries entice me so much. Puzzles require us to piece together information and come to some conclusion. English in itself is its own sort of puzzle. Putting strings of words together to form a sentence is a puzzle. I can add or remove a word and change the entire meaning of that thought! There’s a big difference between “I did my homework” and “I did not do my homework.”
Growing up, I was led by most of the outside world to believe that people either liked math or they liked English. Therefore, I thought I was the rare exception to that rule because I loved both subjects. Of course, I always favored English more, but if you gave me a math problem, I would have gladly completed that problem. Yes, math uses more numbers and English uses more letters, but ultimately, when we plug numbers into an equation, it's a very similar process to plugging words and punctuation into a sentence. The mathematical symbols I choose to use (x, -, +, /, =,÷) are, in many ways, like the English punctuation marks I choose to use (period, comma, dash, semi-colon, colon, etc.).
If I have the numbers 4 and 3, for instance, I need to know which symbol comes between these numbers so I can understand what this mathematical expression means. Am I trying to add these numbers (4+3=7)? Am I trying to subtract these numbers (4-3=1)? Am I trying to multiply these numbers (4x3=12)? My answer will come out very differently depending upon which symbol I use! The same is true in English! Instead of "equations" we speak of "sentences," and instead of "mathematical symbols," we speak of "punctuation marks," but there’s a connection there that we must acknowledge. This week we thought about the importance of forming sentences with the proper punctuation marks. How do I combine words in my sentences with the proper punctuation to produce the proper meaning? How can changing a punctuation mark--without changing any words--make the meaning of a sentence change? In math, using a multiplication sign instead of a division sign can create a different answer. In the same way, in English, using a question mark instead of a period can create a different answer. There’s a difference between “I love you.” and “I love you?” Punctuation is powerful! I think I've convinced you of that this week. Do you remember the "love letter" that John wrote to Patricia? I told you to try your best to punctuate the text of this “love letter” so that it made more sense:
my dear pat the dinner we shared the other night it was absolutely lovely not in my wildest dreams could i ever imagine
anyone as perfect as you are could you if only for a moment think of our being together forever what a cruel joke to have
you come into my life only to leave again it would be heaven denied the possibility of seeing you again makes me giddy
with joy i face the time we are apart with great sadness john p.s.: i would like to tell you that i love you i can't stop
thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth
Punctuated one way, this letter appears to be a message in which John is confessing his love for Pat:
My Dear Pat,
The dinner we shared the other night–it was absolutely lovely! Not in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine anyone
as perfect as you are. Could you–if only for a moment–think of our being together forever? What a cruel joke to have
you come into my life only to leave again; it would be heaven denied. The possibility of seeing you again makes me
giddy with joy. I face the time we are apart with great sadness.
John
P.S.: I would like to tell you that I love you. I can’t stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth!
Punctuated another way, the whole meaning changes even though NONE of the words change:
My Dear Pat,
The dinner we shared the other night: it was absolutely lovely–not! In my wildest dreams, could I ever imagine anyone?
As perfect as you are, could you–if only for a moment–think? Of our being together forever: what a cruel joke! To have
you come into my life only to leave again: it would be heaven! Denied the possibility of seeing you again makes me
giddy. With joy I face the time we are apart.
With great “sadness,”
John
P.S.: I would like to tell you that I love you. I can’t. Stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth!
Yikes! If I ask you on Tuesday what you did over your long weekend and you told me that you “saw a man eating lobster,” I may say, “Oh, how nice. Which restaurant did you go to?” But if you told me that you “saw a man-eating lobster,” I would likely reply, “WHAT?! WHERE? HOW?” Adding or removing a comma can alter our message! “Let’s eat Grandma” and “Let’s eat, Grandma!” have two very different meanings! “Woman, without her man, is nothing” is very different than “Woman: Without her, man is nothing.” This is why, in writing, we must be precise. We must say what we actually mean. After all, punctuation saves lives!
-Ms. Sanford
Growing up, I was led by most of the outside world to believe that people either liked math or they liked English. Therefore, I thought I was the rare exception to that rule because I loved both subjects. Of course, I always favored English more, but if you gave me a math problem, I would have gladly completed that problem. Yes, math uses more numbers and English uses more letters, but ultimately, when we plug numbers into an equation, it's a very similar process to plugging words and punctuation into a sentence. The mathematical symbols I choose to use (x, -, +, /, =,÷) are, in many ways, like the English punctuation marks I choose to use (period, comma, dash, semi-colon, colon, etc.).
If I have the numbers 4 and 3, for instance, I need to know which symbol comes between these numbers so I can understand what this mathematical expression means. Am I trying to add these numbers (4+3=7)? Am I trying to subtract these numbers (4-3=1)? Am I trying to multiply these numbers (4x3=12)? My answer will come out very differently depending upon which symbol I use! The same is true in English! Instead of "equations" we speak of "sentences," and instead of "mathematical symbols," we speak of "punctuation marks," but there’s a connection there that we must acknowledge. This week we thought about the importance of forming sentences with the proper punctuation marks. How do I combine words in my sentences with the proper punctuation to produce the proper meaning? How can changing a punctuation mark--without changing any words--make the meaning of a sentence change? In math, using a multiplication sign instead of a division sign can create a different answer. In the same way, in English, using a question mark instead of a period can create a different answer. There’s a difference between “I love you.” and “I love you?” Punctuation is powerful! I think I've convinced you of that this week. Do you remember the "love letter" that John wrote to Patricia? I told you to try your best to punctuate the text of this “love letter” so that it made more sense:
my dear pat the dinner we shared the other night it was absolutely lovely not in my wildest dreams could i ever imagine
anyone as perfect as you are could you if only for a moment think of our being together forever what a cruel joke to have
you come into my life only to leave again it would be heaven denied the possibility of seeing you again makes me giddy
with joy i face the time we are apart with great sadness john p.s.: i would like to tell you that i love you i can't stop
thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth
Punctuated one way, this letter appears to be a message in which John is confessing his love for Pat:
My Dear Pat,
The dinner we shared the other night–it was absolutely lovely! Not in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine anyone
as perfect as you are. Could you–if only for a moment–think of our being together forever? What a cruel joke to have
you come into my life only to leave again; it would be heaven denied. The possibility of seeing you again makes me
giddy with joy. I face the time we are apart with great sadness.
John
P.S.: I would like to tell you that I love you. I can’t stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth!
Punctuated another way, the whole meaning changes even though NONE of the words change:
My Dear Pat,
The dinner we shared the other night: it was absolutely lovely–not! In my wildest dreams, could I ever imagine anyone?
As perfect as you are, could you–if only for a moment–think? Of our being together forever: what a cruel joke! To have
you come into my life only to leave again: it would be heaven! Denied the possibility of seeing you again makes me
giddy. With joy I face the time we are apart.
With great “sadness,”
John
P.S.: I would like to tell you that I love you. I can’t. Stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth!
Yikes! If I ask you on Tuesday what you did over your long weekend and you told me that you “saw a man eating lobster,” I may say, “Oh, how nice. Which restaurant did you go to?” But if you told me that you “saw a man-eating lobster,” I would likely reply, “WHAT?! WHERE? HOW?” Adding or removing a comma can alter our message! “Let’s eat Grandma” and “Let’s eat, Grandma!” have two very different meanings! “Woman, without her man, is nothing” is very different than “Woman: Without her, man is nothing.” This is why, in writing, we must be precise. We must say what we actually mean. After all, punctuation saves lives!
-Ms. Sanford