Apparently, John and Mary are discussing their English homework assignment
in which John's answer was marked wrong:
John, where Mary had had "had had," had had
"had". "Had had" had been preferred by the
teacher.
Web surfer Henry Taves wrote me to say he can go one "had" better
if "had had" had had the teacher's approval. OK, that example
was a bit contrived, I'll admit. So do you still doubt that punctuation
is important? Consider this
incorrectly punctuated "dear John" letter:
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being
useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be
forever happy--will you let me be yours?
Gloria
What Gloria really meant was this:
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being
useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can
be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria
Web surfer Ron Howell brought to my attention a T-shirt he saw, bearing
two statements, identical except for punctuation:
"Woman, without her, man is nothing" (on front)
"Woman without her man, is nothing" ( on back)
