Conan the Grammarian & the Comma Incident
How a Single Sentence Caused a Riot
In the Department of English…
Conan set a test for his students, writing a sentence on the chalkboard:
A WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING
He explained there were two ways to punctuate the sentence—both grammatically correct, yet with catastrophically different meanings.
The class was evenly split between boys and girls. Each student submitted their answer on a slip of paper.
Conan examined the results.
“Fascinating,” he murmured. “An exact fifty–fifty division.”
The room fell silent.
As Head of Faculty, Conan would cast the deciding vote.
He approached the chalkboard, lifted the chalk… and added the punctuation.
For one long second, nobody spoke.
Then the riot began.
Now it’s your turn.
Conan has already made his choice!
Which would you choose?
Try this on a friend and see what happens.
Before you go…
Join the Inkwave Club for occasional stories, writing tips, and a complimentary copy of Garth's Little Book of Remarkable Things.
The door is always open.