How to lose a friend over an exclamation mark…

I don’t know about you, but when I see an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence, I tend to think that the sentence will convey some form of excitement, emphasis or command. The trouble is exclamation marks are used so liberally nowadays, that most of us don’t really know when it is appropriate to use them…

Here’s a scenario that recently happened between a friend and me:

My friend sent me a text exclaiming: “I have some news!!!”

Triple exclamation mark!

Surely, it had to be big news. I started to let my mind drift over all the possibilities…Had she met someone? Did she win something? Was she pregnant? These topics are all worthy of a triple exclamation mark text message.

However, to cut a long story short, the news turned out to be that she was issued a parking fine earlier in the day.

That’s it?

What a let down! That news was hardly worthy of a three exclamation mark text message and I guess what annoyed me more was that she was a writer.

She should have known better!

Now, you may chalk up my attitude to being pedantic, but in my opinion, the exclamation mark is the Hellfire missile of the grammatical world. It packs more punch than a question mark, more heat than a comma and leaves a much deeper impact crater than a full-stop.

In short, a correctly aimed exclamation mark can flatten an entire village and therefore should not be used in congress with mundane statements about parking fines!

If you’ve seen the Seinfeld episode where Elaine has an argument with her boyfriend over an exclamation mark, then you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that my friend and I also had a similarly heated conversation. Why does the inconsistent use of punctuation cause so much strain on a friendship?

In the aftermath of our little debate, I’ve decided to point out the common mistakes people make when using the exclamation mark:

1. It is overused:-

The correct way to use an exclamation mark is as follows:

“We set up the Christmas tree. So beautiful! We were overcome with joy.”

While not an attractively structured paragraph, the exclamation point is in the right spot.

It should not be written as: “We set up the Christmas tree! So beautiful! We were overcome with joy!”

2. Again it is overused but this time for emphasis:-

Indeed, unless you are writing for a  Japanese game show, there is no need to use 43 exclamation marks in your writing.

Correct: He fell over. Fail!

Incorrect: He fell over!!!! Fail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An exclamation mark should only be used to convey a strong feeling, a command, emphasis, sarcasm or irony.

And only one exclamation mark per sentence, please!

So the next time you are writing a text message or an email, exercise caution with your overuse of exclamation marks. Those who are reckless run the risk of losing friends….

PS. My friend and I are no longer talking.