Punctuation That Changes Meaning
A class is preparing notices for a school open day. Lesego writes: "Students who finish their projects early may leave their names will be entered in a draw." The teacher, Mr. Kgosi, says the notice has two problems: a missing punctuation mark and a meaning that could confuse readers. He writes two versions on the board. Version A: "Students who finish their projects early may leave. Their names will be entered in a draw." Version B: "Students, who finish their projects early, may leave their names will be entered in a draw." The class must decide which version communicates the intended rule and how punctuation affects the meaning of the relative clause.
1. Explain the meaning difference between Version A and Version B, focusing on the relative clause "who finish their projects early."
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In Version A, the clause "who finish their projects early" is a defining relative clause. It tells us which students may leave: only those who finish early. No commas are used because the clause is essential to identify the group. In Version B, the commas make the clause non-defining, which suggests that all the students finish early and the clause merely adds extra information. That reading is unlikely for a school rule. Version B is also still faulty because it lacks a full stop or conjunction before "their names will be entered." So Version A is the better model of the intended rule, and the punctuation changes who is included.
2. Rewrite the notice correctly and explain each punctuation decision you make.
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A correct rewrite is: "Students who finish their projects early may leave. Their names will be entered in a draw." The decisions are: (1) no commas around "who finish their projects early" because the clause defines which students are meant; (2) a full stop after "leave" because the next words form a new sentence with its own subject and verb; (3) a capital T on "Their" because it starts a new sentence. This version keeps the intended rule clear: early finishers may leave, and their names go into the draw. The reasoning shows that punctuation is not decoration; it controls which students the rule applies to and where one idea ends.