Use the Right Number of Periods

Use the Right Number of Periods Use the Right Number of Periods Use the Right Number of Periods By Michael After the word itself, the sentence is the most basic unit of communication. So its the sentence that your readers will notice first. They may not see your mistakes in spelling, and may not notice your mistakes in grammar, but they are likely to notice when you end your sentences too early or too late. Other mistakes are mistakes in formality, and may not disturb your communication. But a sentence represents a thought, and if your readers cant tell what your thoughts are, communication will be hampered. The basic rule is to end your sentence when your thought ends. You may have lots of thoughts tumbling on top of the other, but try to separate them for easy digestion. Put a period at the end of the thought, or if youre asking a question, put a question mark. Weve already cautioned against the overuse of exclamation points, but they are not toxic in small quantities. If the words dont make a complete thought, dont put a period after them. A real drag. Whats a real drag? I didnt tell you. So I shouldnt have put a period after those words. It wasnt a complete thought, and I shouldnt treat it like a complete sentence. In my opinion, its more common for your reader to become confused with too few periods than with too many. Too few periods forces your reader to separate your thoughts because you didnt. The other extreme is equally painful, though. I had a boss who put a period about every two words. He talked like that. He tried to be. Very calm. Paused every few words. For emphasis. But by using periods inappropriately, my boss lost the benefit of being able to tell his readers which thought was which, or when one thought ended and another began. Like the boy who cried Wolf, he was the boss who cried Period. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Congratulations on or for?Whenever vs. When EverIf I Was vs. If I Were