3 Most Common Mistakes made in English Punctuation

3 Most Common Mistakes made in English Punctuation

Punctuation marks that are not placed where they should be give a negative impression of the writer as much as bad grammar does.




1. Writing Sentence Fragments

Sentence fragments are not complete sentences but they can be made a part of sentences. You should avoid using them, as such. For example:

I would go there. If I could.

There should be no period before the sentence fragment “if I could”. Instead, the fragment should be made part of the sentence, so that it reads like this:

I would go there if I could.

2. Using the Comma Splice

The comma splice joins two independent clauses with a comma. Below is an example.

I saw the itinerary, I want to join.

In this sentence, a comma connects two independent clauses. To correct this, you can either put a period after the first independent clause or add a conjunction after the comma.

I saw the itinerary. I want to join.
I saw the itinerary, and I want to join.

3. Putting Apostrophes for Plural Forms of Nouns

Another common mistake is adding apostrophes to plural nouns. Below are examples.

The orange’s are really sweet.
The kid’s will be performing in a musical.

The apostrophes in these examples should be omitted.

Correct way: The oranges are really sweet.
The kids will be performing in a musical.