National Punctuation Day 2013 is Sept. 24: Which common punctuation errors annoy you most?
Today (Sept. 24) is National Punctuation Day. Use commas responsibly.
Looking for ways to celebrate? "Take a leisurely stroll, paying close attention to store signs with incorrectly punctuated words," according to the holiday's website.
When it comes to punctuation, it seems like everybody has at least one pet peeve. The punctuation rule that tops my list pertains to apostrophes. It's hardly an original annoyance. In fact, I usually see multiple blog posts devoted to this pet peeve when holiday newsletter season arrives.
I'm talking about the plural version of a family's last name.
Let's say your last name is Martin. You should sign your holiday cards like this: "Happy holidays from the Martins."
Not like this: "Happy holidays from the Martin's."
I'll end the discussion by directing you to an expanded tutorial because my blood is boiling.
The mere mention of that pet peeve put me on the verge of a breakdown. As I said, I'm not the first person to blog about the punctuation rule. Here's a humorous blog post on the same topic.
Does punctuation still matter? Sure. But some people might argue that the rise of smartphones and autocorrect has broadened our tolerance for certain punctuation mistakes.
Which punctuation errors annoy you most?
While you ponder that question, check out Mashable's photo gallery of 16 unfortunate misuses of punctuation.
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This story was originally published September 23, 2013 at 11:53 PM with the headline "National Punctuation Day 2013 is Sept. 24: Which common punctuation errors annoy you most?."