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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