Translated!: Here in Ukraine we use exclamation (!) mark when we write about your president trump saying something that might be true! That mark is not used often; if at all!
5
Exclamatory Prohibitions…
Language purists, they say, have enjoint
Us from using that vexatious point.
In Spain, it’s so troubled,
Upside down and doubled
¡It would sure put their nose out of joint!
14
My father taught me that for good writing, you should only use one exclamation point. In your life.
14
Exclamation points are often necessary when writing dialog, but never in prose.
5
Wry fun...?!
4
Most Americans call (!) an exclamation point. I am American, but feel it is better to call it an exclamation mark because no "point" is involved. (You will not be misunderstood, if you do.) I hope other Americans start doing the same.
5
OMG!!! I remember the 3 keystrokes to make an exclamation point on the typewriter - period, backspace, asterisk! I must be making up for it !
17
Some baseball teams bring in bullpen pitchers to face 1st batter, then a starter. !Maybe we could/should begin exclamatory statements with an exclamation mark.
1
'We are very happy and the city has not been like this since after the War!!!! I am waiting for you to send photos of your little house and the pumpkin celebration with friends!!! My daughter was here and I watched the wedding on a video. The bride's veil belonged to my grandmother and is made of Belgium lace. Please let me know if you are having plum pudding for Christmas!..'.
A rare bird past 90 and full of joie de vivre, I miss receiving her lively notes, laced with an undercurrent of wisdom.
Now. An exclamation mark on paper in the workplace (!) is most telling and notable to this sender/recipient of emails, and I have yet to see this chimera.
But then when 'Cheers' came on board as a closing salutation, my thoughts wandered to a gathering of Irish farmers enjoying a pint of stout.
Be as it may, wishing all and sundry a pleasant weekend. Enjoy!
5
We have a lot of rote correspondence with customers at my firm via email. We use a system that allows us to choose from a menu of pre-written options, that we are required to use. However, so many are boring. I like to add "Thank you for the opportunity to quote you!" or "Thank you for choosing X company!" I guarantee you I will get back a "Thanks!" or "Thank you for your help!" most of the time. I believe customers want a personal touch, and the exclamation point is a great way to get there. Definitely less professional, but more personal. Long live the exclamation point at work!
15
***“Use too many exclamation points and you won’t be taken seriously, use too few and you can come off as cold,” said Deborah Tannen...“It’s the story of women’s lives in a nutshell.”***
So true. The same is true of smiling. If women don’t affect a pleasant, approachable expression all the time, they are called arrogant, or the b word, or worse. If they smile too much, they are seen as too accommodating, not authoritative. I think too much smiling may have worked against Amy Klobuchar, unfortunately. There is a way to smile without giving away too much of your soul, or making people distrust your sincerity. One example of a woman who has mastered a sincere but self-possessed smile is (I chose an actress, in order to avoid politics) Glenn Close.
10
I absolutely agree with @passionforpeaches. The previous sentence deserves a (!) but I will avoid it for fear of commentary critique!
Leaning into exclamation points has been my way of ensuring the reader understands my friendly tone, joy at meeting them or agreeing with them and then I can proceed into my main points of communication. Business that used to be conducted in person or by phone is now mostly done by text and email. I care less that a person finds me overly enthusiastic and more that they determine me to be boorish or as my British friends would say a prig.
It was so nice to meet you.
I enjoyed our conversation.
I’m hoping we can find ways to work together.
I cringe at the sentences above! They are flat and dead.
Hurray for punctuation that communicates our excitation!
I really enjoyed an opportunity to have this conversation!
12
So I had to go and check the typewriter I learned on, a wonderful extended carriage Royal probably from the ‘30s. Right, no !, but it was a business version, with @ and # as well as 1/2 and 1/4 and the symbol for cents.
As far as I can tell, it does not need a typebar update, or a battery.
4
You're kidding, right? "Older generations may be less comfortable with the mark because it didn’t appear on a typewriter; rendering one required three different keys."
I learned to type around 1954 on my grandfather's Corona typewriter from the 1920s, which had no exclamation point. So I used apostrophe-backspace-period. It also lacked the numeral "1." So I used a lower-case L (l).
Guess what? I never avoided using either the "!" or the numeral 1 due to that difficulty. I don't know anyone my age (mid-70s) who did.
I suspect that only perpetual teenagers use multiple exclamation points, and adults don't.
7
I loved this essay!!!
22
I totally!, totally!, love exclamation marks!!!
Don’t you?
11
I wonder, is there anything else going on today, that might be a bit more pressing than this?
6
Yes. But nothing else that is so delightful!
22
There lived a rogue white cat in our neighborhood always in and out of everyone's business we named it "Hey You!" now that would look funny as just a plain Hey You.
13
@Carlyle T., the cat probably thinks it’s name is “Shoo!”.
2
Not a fan.
“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
13
Well, if we can't laugh a bit or more at ourselves...!
9
@Peter, now I know you didn’t read the article before posting. Gotcha!
3
The exclamation point is the written standard with most imperative sentences and with exclamations. See, for instance, the web-available "Grammar and Style in British English." Still, you can compare "Help yourself!" and "Help yourself."
6
Remember when “prioritizing “ entered the language ( ugh!!) ??!!!
5
How could you not include Trump?!
6
If it's really worth a column, then I stand here!!!
However, I admit I only read the first paragraph!
2
Well, heck!, I just put a ! after Good afternoon aaand Thank you in a brief business email.... Good afternoon. and Thank you. seem so... like I didn't mean it. Sigh....
9
To me, an ! expresses either insecurity or irony.
If a writer feels that it’s needed to stress a point, he/she us not confident that they (I hate this misuse of a plural pronoun, so take my use of it as ironic) have made a case. It makes me mistrust the writer.
Used ironically, it calls attention to an absurdity. This usage I can support, especially in wiseass humor writing. “Imagine my surprise!” means I wasn’t surprised.
Writing is not oral speech. Using punctuation to try to simulate physical gestures is futile. Writing requires its own techniques to convey nuance, floridity, coldness, warmth, and intention.
5
Three exclamation points per 100,000 words is excessive.
Instantly, when I see exclamation points in prose, I assume the writer is not very smart. Usually, that's the case.
4
Terry Pratchett was right about exclamation points. ‘“Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind.’”
3
It is good for winking. (!-)
6
On Your Marks
Those tiny fragments of ink
Which can enter mid-sentence
and make you think . . .
E.g. some tipsy ellipses
Pushing a story to the brink.
“WHEE!!!” he exclaimed making his point
while shoving aside a period
that felt a little unfinished
and quite out of joint.
But another sentence came
and with it opportunity anew,
when suddenly a hesitant comma
just now hove into view.
What’s that rumbling we hear up here?
Is it noise from an ornery colon?
No, it’s from the accidental inclusion
of a most censorious solon
who judges whether we use
our punctuation marks correctly
or just lay them on, page after page
to infer so much indirectly.
18
Three keys on a typewriter to create an exclamation point?! If you're that old you had a secretary! It was her job (_her_ job!) to operate the machine! Who cares how many keystrokes were required?!! This argument does! not! hold up!
3
Silliest thread, ever!!!
My apologies if I've had too much fun below. :-))
4
My generation grew up with "Have a good day" and watched it morph into today's "Have a great day." Which feels, to some of us, like pressure.
Also, phony, over-inflated and super duper annoying.
Exclamation points are the "Have a great day" of the texting world!
5
@Nancy A
Have a blessed day is even worse....
4
Don't forget Oscar Wilde's famous one-glyph letter to his publisher upon the release is Dorian Gray, asking after the book's success. "?", wrote OW. "!" responded the publisher.
15
When I was a young man, the exclamation point was a back-of-the-drawer tool that you only pulled out for special jobs. I think a good rule of thumb is you should use an exclamation point about as often as you throw confetti. I like to think of it as a period in a party hat.
12
I would like to remind readers that traditionally, almost every sentence in comics (usually "ballooned") ends with an exclamation mark! There must be (and must have been) some underlying rationale!
1
I would gladly take an exclamation point, as opposed to misplaced apostrophe’s, second person possessive adjectives that are constantly misused as verbal contractions (I am so aggravated by this that I refuse to even type the culprits here! <—- there I did it! <—- there I did it again).
We need to pick our battles.
6
@Sad Sack
No, we need not pick battles when it comes to grammar. Never retreat--fighting hard as possible, we already lose too much. Do not go gentle into that good night. Otherwise, before long, you will be reading DNGGITGN.
The devil loves texting.
1
I still use exclamation marks and those smiley faces made with parentheses. But I refuse to use an emoji of any kind. Kind of dating myself, huh?
2
Now I know why so many younger people perceive me as rude, or cold and distant, via text. Someone might ask me what I'm doing tonight, and I'd reply, "Watching a movie." Then I get some version of "Are you ok?" as a response. Apparently, if I'm not suicidally depressed, I ought to reply, "I'm going to watch a movie!"
When I grew up, exclamation points were for emotions so extreme, or situations so shocking, you wanted to go beyond what language could convey. "The police are in the CFO's office!" "David Bowie died!" "Someone stole my car!" Do we have to invent a new punctuation for this use, now that the exclamation mark has been coopted into emoji culture?
7
@Revelwoodie
I wouldn't necessarily oppose a new punctuation mark. Perhaps an upside-down exclamation point, since the familiar one has been kidnapped and buried alive by evil forces. For awhile, at least, that might grab the attention the traditional exclamation mark once did and still should.
Thanks Times! My favorite article in a while. I work in a law firm and use it in my business emails every day. Here’s my rule. If the recipient is someone I’m writing to for the first time, no exclamation points. If it’s someone I know, I’ll usually close with it. Thanks! All the best! Take care! Not using it in this context would make me seem like a total sourpuss. Incidentally, a lot of people who never use exclamation points are the same people who never begin emails with “Hi” (You know who you are.)
5
Owen's mother used to read to him. He always insisted that she read every word, and he would follow. At the end of a publisher's page, with copyrites and all that, in exasperation, she allowed her voice to rise.
"Mama, there's no exclamation point."
5
Is this a big deal?
Use an exclamation point when you're exclaiming. Otherwise, use a period.
We live in an overwrought world, of course, in which everyone exclaims, all the time. Getting a bit nerve-wracking. And the louder, the more exclamation points.
We seem no longer able to practice self-control!!!!!!!!
5
Just how old a person are you talking about that didn't have an ! on their typewriter? I'm 64 and learned to type at age 10 on my Uncle Paul's IBM Selectric in 1965. ! very present.
4
@beario
A Selectric, back then, was state of the art--into the 1980s, they still cost way more than pretty much any other typewriter. I'm younger than you, and I remember making do with a manual sans exclamation point, and we were taught how to make same in typing class at school, if I recall correctly. I had to walk five miles to that school, uphill both ways and snowing most of the time, by the way...
4
@beario
I very clearly remember using the three keystrokes on my manual Smith-Corona:
+ + = !
For variety, you could switch the first and third keystrokes. Either way, it was actually easier than the more modern + <1>. That's progress for you.
1
I’m 61 and we didn’t get Selectrics in typing class until Typing II junior year (1974)!
Is it just me or does anyone else say "Pling! Pling! Pling!" on the phone when they want to get across the triple exclamation markedness of something?
Oh, just me then. :-(
2
If Deborah Tannen "helped coin the phrase 'double bind'" she must have had a very long and varied career--so far as I know, this phrase was coined in the 1950s by a group of schizophrenia researchers to describe conflicting family expectations, and from there percolated out through the psychiatric and psychological literature into the public consciousness, taking on a more general meaning in the process. See, for example, Watzlawick, Paul. 1963. “A Review of the Double Bind Theory.” Family Process 2 (1): 132–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1963.00132.x. "In 1956, Bateson, Jackson, Haley, and Weakland reported on a research project which they had undertaken to formulate and test a new view on the nature of schizophrenic communication. This report was entitled "Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia" (97), and postulates the concept of the double bind." (Italics omitted)
2
I'll stop using exclamation points when writers stop using "Marie Kondo" as a verb.
4
@Michael Cummings Or others nouns and trademarks as verbs - google, fridge, xerox, etc
1
And let's not get started on the ?! (or is that !?) and how is that pronounced anyway? Right on!
3
Clearly the people in opposition have never been reprimanded from their employer for not using exclamation points to make their emails "seem friendlier."
I only use them now for email introductions, where I apply them liberally and enthusiastically.
1
I grew up, and subsequently lost contact, with a woman who became an editor.
When we ultimately connected again, via Facebook, we had a wonderful back-and-forth correspondence revealing information about our lives. It was very exciting, and she expressed that by saying something like, “I’m so happy to hear from you! Your kids sound great! As an editor, I would never normally allow so many explanation points!”
Without the punctuation, she couldn’t have made her point so well, nor so amusingly. It was perfect.
10
The tendency to use frequent exclamation points seems to be especially prevalent in certain professions. For example (and to my dismay), they're rampant in correspondence from our town's schoolteachers and administrators (female or male of any age/generation).
2
A Georgetown professor helped coin the phrase "double bind?" I'm fairly certain I remember that phrase from the sixties and even earlier. From where does this need to be first come? Einstein was happy to sit on the shoulders of giants. Cannot the rest of us be satisfied with that?
3
I think we’ll see more of this in the future! I’m sure there’s a browser plug-in or app that can remove/replace them for the moderately tech savvy!
Exclamation points (or ‘marks’ as we call them in Australia and the UK) are like the steroids of punctuation and before social media I used them sparingly as we were taught. But now I use them a lot more (on Twitter for example) because I feel the pressure of having to get to the point.
11
I'm enjoying the comments section almost as much as the article itself. Maybe it's just a relief to see such good natured arguments between citizens!
31
@Amy Vail I agree!!
1
Exclamation marks (UK) should be avoided in the same way as witing with green ink, using block capials or double underlining words for emphasis.
As Trump would say - SAD!
11
@aelstor: I can produce any number of primary school kids who would disagree with you! :o)
5
Exclamation marks are useful in passwords.
22
Exclamation marks don't bother me as much as question marks placed at the end of a declarative sentence; similar to people who speak with a rising inflection. My response to both is "Are you telling me or asking me?"
11
@Billy Baynew, I think that can be an implied “maybe” or “not sure” (a shortcut, in other words). In an email, text or online comment it’s normal to use such shortcuts
3
I've noticed that British writers tend to use exclamation points far more than Americans. I don't know why that is, but it seems to convey either perkiness or something that the writer thinks is particularly noteworthy, unusual, or thought-provoking. Anyone else notice this British-American distinction?
3
@Rich
Can't say I have noticed this. I'm afraid in the UK the big annoyance is the abuse of the apostrophe eg tomatoe's.
2
@Rich, I hate the word “perky.”
Yes, I do think that some older British fiction is heavy on the ! factor. But I don’t know whether it is more so than English language writing from other countries.
1
@Rich: On the contrary, Americans use them more than the British.
Actually, I think you'll find that it's cat owners. Next time you see loads of exclamation marks, ask them if they are a cat or a dog person...
2
Good googly-moogly! I use as many exclamation points as I want in my personal correspondence, or posting comments. In professional or academic use, they should be limited.
Anyway, the exclamation point is the least of my grammatical concerns these days. Useless filler words, such as "like," "you know," "let me just say," "so," etc., make listening to the news almost intolerable. And don't get me started on spelling errors and misplaced apostrophes!
23
Just a reminder to older generations that us youngins also leave out punctuation sometimes, and it's intentional. Okay. reads very differently from Okay
6
@RMurphy
It's "OK." That's what I was taught.
What, no mention of the interrobang?!
23
Is that what it's called?! I like those. No, wait--I like those!
4
I actually wondered this morning where in the nyt I could put a comment about Donald Trump and his use of the exclamation point versus, say, Nancy Pelosi and her assumed non use and how it - the ! - reflects political views and those who hold them. Then just now I saw this article. It was written for me. I just know it.[tempted to put one here, but no]
I hate the exclamation point. I have to control myself when communicating with people i otherwise like who spray them like spit. Funny is it not how a little mark can explode in your head?
Donald Trump is intrinsically tied to this icky mark, for obvious reasons, and if he does get impeached, I can only hope that the exclamation point is impeached also, and they both go way way far away forever!
18
I do like the occasional exclamation point!
16
@Rax
I do, too!
5
Rarely does a statement require or even tolerate an exclamation point. Yes, sentences and language are a living thing. Overdone, over-emphasis strangles the sentence on the vine, negating the concept an author attempts to convey.
And never, ever utilize 2 or more exclamation points - lookin' at all you immature, undereducated, hypersensitive millennials + tween girls who also put stars over their "i"s.
5
@Maggie Wait...we can actually type an "i" with a star replacing the dot?
5
@Maggie, if you really care about language, why do you use the word utilize? It simply means use.
6
@Maggie
Girls have been dotting their i’s creatively since forever.
3
The exclamation point was the first emoticon.
29
I'll accept more exclamation points in exchange for fewer brackets, ellipses and Oxford commas!
5
@Walter: What's an "Oxford comma" (I've never heard of it!)...?
1
Oxford commas come in handy when writing (and then probating) wills.
3
Oops - I use a lot of ellipses too!!
1
Not so in Spanish, however.
1
@Jodi
Younger Spanish-fluent writers have adopted dropping the ¡
in most written forms. This whole issue seems to be generational and as a Gen Xer, I stand by on the sidelines watching Boomers and Millenials duke it out.
Lighten up, folks. You only have this one life to live. Be juvenile as long as you can. Just remember, you won't be able to use that exclamation point after you're put in the ground, cremated, or donated to science. Laugh! Find something funny Every! Single! Day! Throw exclamation points to the wind!
63
@Abandoned Garden O But being ‘put i the ground’ is a super-!!!
1
I seriously do not understand the big deal.
11
@B. M. Sandy: Then I can recommend "Poker" by Ivor Winninghand. :-)
1
@B. M. Sandy
No different than anything else, really. Less and less, we communicate with each other face to face. More and more, first, and someitmes lasting, impressions are formed via emails or texts or in some other written form. There is no down side to using proper grammar and punctuation. There is, at least potentially, a down side to excessive use of exclamation points and other grammar boo boo's when you're writing to someone. There is a percentage of the population that thinks less of folks who gratuitously use exclamation points, and I suspect that might be as much on a subconscious level as a conscious one.
Proper writing isn't difficult, so why not do it?
Like a good old fashioned cussing, exclamation points should be reserved for those moments there is truly a need, in this case, a need for exclamation, e.g.:
Trump Impeached!
Trump Abducted By Aliens!
Trump Jailed for Tax Evasion!
Melania Divorces Trump! Tells All!
Oh, I could go on, yes, but I believe I have made the point.
56
@DKM
There also is the almost-never occasion that demands the double mark:
Trump Re-elected?!
Jeb! tells you all you need to know about exclamation points.
14
It's a really obnoxious punctuation mark! It makes it very difficult to take the sentence content seriously when it's delivered in a gratingly chipper tone! People who use exclamation points in consecutive sentences sound manic at best!
15
It's 'Exclamation Pernt!'
4
Language is a living thing, aided and and abetted by punctuation. Trends come and go. Multiple exclamation points are one more way of being creatively expressive.
Live and let live.
26
I always hated exclamation points in business writing and I still do. But the key point, which is not really highlighted by in this piece, is that emails are generally not (and text messages are never) intended to substitute for business writings. They are intended to substitute for speaking. What I put in an email today is not something I would likely have written in a letter 20 years ago. It’s something I probably would have said on the phone. So the more casual style, tone and construction of an email - and the use of punctuation associated with emotion - is more approximate to speech.
34
I'm no fan of the exclamation mark and if it were up to me, I'd never use it, but I feel professionally under peer pressure duress to employe it in all work emails. If I ended a work email request with: thanks. rather than: thanks! The recipient would either audibly huff when I passed them in the hall for the next 3 weeks or come to my office to ask why I was mad at them.
The lack of exclamation is seen as form of passive aggressive behavior to indicate a problem. I didn't create the rules, but I follow them because I don't want the assistants spitting in my coffee!
42
I despise the overuse of the explanation point. I participate in an online professional forum. At least it's supposed to be for professionals. It's a virtual space where members can post questions seeking advice from their more experienced colleagues. I've mostly stopped posting because so many sensitive individuals take offense if you don't overly praise them for making ridiculous mistakes before offering the proper advice. There is one member, who is indeed quite knowledgeable, that opens every post with "Hi So-and-so! You've tried some great things already! (none of which have worked) You might want to give this (the right thing to do) a try!"
He gives great advice. He is loved. I give similar advice but am known as controversial and confrontational because I speak plainly and don't sugar coat things and I hardly ever use exclamation points. I get nauseous reading the other fellows posts.
8
If the other fellow’s method of communication is more effective, seems like there’s something valuable to be learned from it.
12
@Sneeral
"I despise the overuse of the explanation point."
I would actually like to know what that looks like!
4
@Natalie Sal That thought has occurred to me. I just can't bring myself to embrace the whole participation trophy mindset. If I were speaking to children, or even older students I could perhaps stomach it. But the forum is all adults and - again - supposedly professionals.
I think they’re literally awesome!!!!!
42
@Ted: OMG!!! I can't believe there's someone who agrees with me!! *You're* awesome!!!
14
@Ted
And amazing!!!!!
12
I used to avoid that line and dot Thing. I associated it with bouncy people who were either selling you stuff, asking you whether you know Jesus (another kind of selling), or the kind of folks who bounced out of bed every morning ready to Meet! New! People! Because they are People People!!
Or else, you know, just lazing writing.
I’ve rejected novels due to excessive punctuation, particularly that dreaded Thing. I hate it.
But I use it these days, and it’s probably for the same reason so many others do. In electronic communication — emails, texts, messaging — it’s easy for our missives tend to sound flat, abrupt and grumpy. The recipient might get the wrong impression, or try to second guess the writer’s tue meaning. We cannot read the speaker’s eyes or facial expression. But a happy, jolly exclamation point implies that the words come with a friendly smile. The punctuation takes the place of a handshake or hug. It deescalates any tension.
Really!
49
@Passion for Peaches
"But I use it these days, and it’s probably for the same reason so many others do. In electronic communication — emails, texts, messaging — it’s easy for our missives tend to sound flat, abrupt and grumpy. "
Your entire message mirrors my feelings and my evolving practice.
19
@Passion for Peaches: I don't do exclamations much. For the friendly smile I use ... the friendly smile! :-)
ps. That exclamation mark (and the one coming up - you have been warned! Oops, no, not that one just now, it just slipped out!) is for emphasis, not friendliness!
:o)
6
Every infant should be issued five exclamation points at birth, and take three of them to the grave.
31
@mark - I could introduce you to my ex-wife and I'm sure you would go through half a dozen the first day.
6
Office correspondence has moved on from the exclamation point to the smiley :-).
16
I reluctantly use exclamation points to separate sarcastic comments from sincere ones!
7
@CLS: Really?!? I use them for surprise. :-D
2
Back in the early days of the internet, I worked for a software company that had its own email system. One of my co-workers had a habit of overusing exclamation marks. A simple declarative sentence required one, while a mildly emotional remark merited at least three. When she went on vacation, one of the IT people played a joke on her. The first time she used three exclamation marks in an email, a pop-up appeared on her screen: "You have exhausted your quota of exclamation marks. Please see your system administrator for more."
78
@Rachel today that would be ‘oppressive work environment’ or even ‘sexual harassment’. Life was simpler.
1
It's nuts. I had an employee email me that she was sick and would not be coming in to work. I replied with a simple "Thanks for the note!"
Next thing I get an email from her asking about why I am excited that she is not coming to work....
Really? People are so thin skinned even that sets them off?
35
@Joe Rock bottom: Yes, she sure misread that one. The exclamation mark in "Thanks for the note!" clearly indicates undying gratitude that she bothered to inform you. :-)
2
@Joe Rock bottom
Wow that’s wild. It is akin to some people interpreting a period, at the end of a simple phrase in a text, to be harsh.
For instance, if someone texts you to cancel a meeting or date and you reply “OK.”
that comes off differently (to some) as “ok” or even “ok!”.
Language and its evolution is fascinating.
3
if you stand on it you might fall over. You need good balance
5
They should be used very sparingly and correctly. But in the age of "OMG!!!" and "How r u?" and "dude!!" we're going to have to accept the excessive use of exclamation points.
They do sound immature and overly emotional to the reader over the age of 25. We should also note the over-use of "really". It's a lazy word; "It was a really really sad movie." It's part of the dumbification of America.
Language and punctuation will change with or without my comfort and/or approval, but this writer will try to choose words that convey the intensity of my meaning without resorting to laziness and silliness. Perhaps I have done so here.
9
@JL22: OMG! I'm like really? It's two more characters than "very". What's lazy about that?!?
3
!
Seems perfectly ok to me;
On the other hand what isn't?
By the way —
Oh well, anyhow... no matter what....
Therefor, I am.
!
7
Despite many writers’ feelings that there is some external force that is sitting somewhere waiting to pounce on their mistakes, conventions are not enforced in the same way as laws are enforced by the legal system. They are enforced by editors, whose only power comes from the institution that employs them and which grants them the ability to pass judgement on the material that the institution publishes. That judgment is based on widespread agreement about structures that enhance written communication rather than hindering it.
This power, however, is limited, and is becoming weaker every day as more options for “publishing” without an editor are becoming available. There is, for example, no editor reviewing my writing for correctness in this space. Increasingly, conventions have power to the degree that writers wish to abide by them. This is no small matter because educated readers still perceive a value in these conventions for providing a sense of structure and continuity that enhance the communication value of the writing that adheres to them.
There are plenty of unedited writing venues, so free expression is easy to come by. Writers are constrained within the edited realm, but readers are free to choose it or to opt for the unedited world. This is as it should be. I am free to follow conventions or not as I write this. I do so because I believe it enhances my ideas, not because some power is forcing me. A writer’s audience has greater power that any editor. (!!!!!)
7
Ugh. You are not spreading cheer or indicating sincerity with an exclamation point. To me it's the opposite - it's fake, cloying, insincere and masking intent. It's often employed to cover something negative: bad news, criticism, assignment of extra work.
What's next? The normalization of ALL CAPS?
7
I believe the ! should properly be called an exclamation mark. It is not a point. A period is.
9
@Michael: Why, I do exclaim, your point in this period of time is... remarkable. :-)
3
SEINFELD The Sniffing Accountant Episode aired Oct 7, 1993.
-----"Elaine: Well, I mean if one of your close friends had a baby and I left you a message about it, I would use an exclamation point.
Jake: Well, maybe I don't use my exclamation points as haphazardly as you do.
Elaine: You don't think that someone having a baby warrants an exclamation point.
Jake: Hey, I just chalked down the message. I didn't know I was required to capture the mood of each caller.
Elaine: I just thought you would be a little more excited about a friend of mine having a baby.
Jake: Ok, I'm excited. I just don't happen to like exclamation points.
Elaine: Well, you know Jake, you should learn to use them. Like the way I'm talking right now, I would put an exclamation points at the end of all these sentences! On this one! And on that one!
Jake: Well, you can put one on this one: I'm leaving!"
25
First thing I thought of when reading this article was this Seinfeld scene you mention! First thing! Isn’t that something?!
10
Raymond Chandler was against exclamation points. He said it was like laughing at your own joke.
3
@Charlie Messing, If his writing voice was representative of his speaking voice, I doubt that Raymond Chandler uttered many exclamatory statements. Maybe creative profanity, occasionally.
2
@Charlie Messing
I like that.
I mean...I like that!
2
LOL really annoys me. I immediately dismiss anything written before it as the sign of a idiot.
Explanation points inappropriately used are another great annoyance.
When deciding to “like” a comment in the NYT comments section that otherwise I agree with, if there’s a LOL at the end of it, I will not “like” it. Same with a comment with inappropriate explanation points.
As someone that had a sixth grade teacher destroy my love of formal education, resulting in my getting a GED rather than attending school, and being pretty much self educated because I have always been a voracious reader (as a child I loved to read my family’s Brittanica Encyclopedia collection) I find poor grammar and punctuation to be a great annoyance and a sign of a lazy mind.
5
@Paulie Agree. And to your list, I would add "like," which also seems to get used way too often as a filler. "Like, I find poor grammer and punctuation to be a great annoyance and like a sign of a lazy mind."
2
¡¡¡I hate them!!!
3
In 1668, John Wilkins, in "An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language", suggested using an inverted exclamation mark to punctuate ironic statements.
So just claim that you're being ironic while standing on your head.
Oh yeah... it also helps to explain that you're a millennial.
4
LOL. I heart this article!
15
I think of it as an emoji that’s also a punctuation mark. Proper usage is pretty easy to figure out from there.
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@Eric
^^^This.
The exclamation point was the original emoji.
3
We can all agree that it is “an act” not “a act,” as written in the last sentence, right? As for the exclamation point, in a world where cruelty is couched as sarcasm, and the word snowflake has been co-opted to mean a fragile being, the exclamation point can actually be a sign of sincerity. Tone is hard to discern in written communication, especially as we speak to our colleagues less frequently. “I’m excited to get going on this project.” vs “I’m excited to get going on this project!” In the first, I’m not sure if this is an attempt at dry wit with a subtle eye roll. With the second, I feel confident the author is genuine. Men may have convinced us they are girlish or juvenile and we use them too much. Perhaps men should use them more.
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A mark of sincerity only works if no one uses it ironically or sarcastically. You can’t count on that. You have to bring extraneous information to the interpretation of most interpersonal written communications.
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An exclamation point means the words are meant to be exclaimed - that is, shouted. It makes sense when used as in "Help!"
I don't really know what multiple exclamation points mean. Hysterical screaming? I know people who routinely put two, three or even four at the end of the most mundane statements. They lose all meaning when overused, like the boy who cried "Wolf!"
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@Jomo Or, to put it another way, like “the boy who cried ‘Wolf!’”
3
I used to use one a few times per year, but now that everything is infested with them I stopped using them altogether. It can no longer appear to be anything but juvenile. That's a loss.
5
I love the exclamation point and use it with the same exuberance that I live my life!
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I come from a theatre background and am very sensitive to punctuation. In play scripts, the punctuation is a clue the playwright gives as to how a line or scene should be played. My character's line, "Shut up." would be played very differently than the line, "Shut up!" I use exclamation points very sparingly, saving them for when I really, really mean it.
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@Steph. The playscript of Miller's Death of a Salesman is littered with exclamation points, making it a very overwrought read. The play has survived, so perhaps directors have learned to mute them.
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@Steph, that’s an interesting take on the subject. However, the reason I go to see plays that have been staged innumerable times is to see different interpretations of the lines, regardless of punctuation. So the punctuation may be an instruction for reading, but it’s a suggestion for performance.
1
Using exclamation points more often is completely natural when we are using written communications more often in lieu of phone calls and face to face communications. I do try to limit my exclamation points to around 1-2 per email, and my ellipses as well.... but I would never cut them out completely! We need them to convey a tone where tone was once used.
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I've long thought that excessive exclamation point use is similar to mistakes of their/they're/there, and the use of "loose" in place of "lose." Not harmful in and of themselves, but a quick and easy, although certainly not foolproof, way to determine that what you are looking at is probably not worth reading.
However, languages change, and it is entirely possible that in the future (or even the present) these "mistakes" become simply conventions used even in worthwhile writing.
4
@Phil, I once told a relative that I could not stand the fiction writer he was reading (a favorite of his) because the guy used so many exclamation points. That relative later told me that I’d ruined that writer for him because now when he read all he noticed was every darned exclamation point, and it drove him nuts.
Once you see them you cannot you cannot unsee them (!).
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Would like to add that, per the article, the writer I mentioned is male.
1
Using the exclamation point is basically a sign of laziness. It substitutes for using words to explain why the words that precede the exclamation point are important or exciting. It's also used as a substitute for ALL CAPS which has been criticized as being the equivalent of shouting. An exclamation point is just another method of virtual shouting.
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The ! Really shines in an age of earnest and ironic hyperbole and intensity. At this point, there’s so much noise and static that it’s almost like a contest to see how intense a voice can be to reach through the din.
At work it’s often an extension of a corporate culture that insists on false positivity and enthusiasm to cover up its own banality.
13
I use exclamation points. But every time I do, I die a little inside.
68
Sparingly or not at all. We live in an increasingly text dominated world. Most people don't realize text reads louder than words. With very few exceptions, an exclamation point is only really appropriate in written dialogue.
Bob shouted, "Oh my gosh! What is that strange thing standing behind you?"
The literary equivalent of a horror movie scream.
Otherwise, exclamation points are just as obnoxious as all caplocks or finger quotation marks. Great when used to good effect but typically best left alone.
6
Thanks for this article. As a writer I struggle with this. I'm a fan of Dickinson's dashes. And miss the interrobang on my father's 1960s manual typewriter:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrobang
4
Couldn't care less about exclamation points, even though it does come across as juvenile.
Vocal fry and uptalk, however, make me want to plug my ears with my fingers and run away from the speaker.
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@asdfj
I agree! Vocal Fry! Horrible! Use your voice!
3
@asdfj
Vocal fry also comes across as juvenile.
Many's the morning I wake to NPR and what I know are adults but who sound as if they are 13, at best. The wall-to-wall vocal fry on both news and features always prods me to jump out of bed and get going to greet the day. However, those juvenile-sounding radio broadcast news readers also make me reach over to turn off the clock radio and them.
3
Agreed. Uptalk drives me nuts!
4
How can ANYONE! write an article about exclamation points and not refer to Elaine's breakup with Jake Jarmel!
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@A. Moursund Thank you! I was thinking the same thing as soon as I saw the headline. As I always say, there' s a Seinfeld for every situation.
4
@A. Moursund
I always recall "Top of the Muffin to You!"
See - Elaine has no consistency!
Please do not ever dictate
ways that I must punctuate!
You cannot anoint
my exclamation point
as something that is second rate!
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@tim torkildson
To echo @J, I just died a little bit on the inside.
2
@tim torkildson
If our language is a garden,
Its paths are punctuation.
Must we gild our lilies
With undue exclamation?
4
Tinder was a hook up website. That is what made it different from Match and the rest, Tinder was almost exclusively for one night stands. Looking for romance there is not exactly what any one does.
Anyway, back to the subject, the !!!!
You know what is worse than !!!, is letting someone ghostwrite your posts on a dating website.
At the other end of that communication you are expecting to get to know Person A, but you are in fact talking to Person B. Thus when you actually meet A and she scream, talks! Like! This! And thinks you’re amaziiiiiiiinnnngggg … don’t expect a second date; instead expect a very confused person who fell in love with the words that B spoke, and cannot get why person A was so different in real life.
Haven’t you all read Cyrano D’Bergerac? Or watched My Father the Hero? Not a good idea to let others express what you think.
21
It's better than too many LOL's. Wait! Is my apostrophe use correct?
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@eric Putting an apostrophe to denote a plural is so last century. Just skip it and let the s hug the L.
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@eric
I don't think so - it's a plural, not a possessive. But you're right. I always know when I get "personal" spam if the subject line has LOL in it.
And I don't laugh out loud on paper, only out loud.
10
@eric
nope!
my god, this is ridiculous!!!
17
Great article!!!
27
Oh geez, the campaign against exclamation points when I was a teenager was so intense my English teacher found a passage in a Salinger book (Franny and Zooey?) in which a character - a woman, natch - is described unflatteringly as someone, or a girl I think, who would use three exclamation points. The horror!!!
That stuck with me for awhile and then I gradually allowed myself permission to use exclamation points when I felt like it.
16
According to Shoshana Zuboff, in The Age of Surveilance Capitalism, use of exclaimation points is one of the criteria in formulating your personality profile in the algorithms used by Google, Facebook et.al. Evidently they consider this more telling than the actual content of your messages. I wonder what it means to them.
26
Kids tend to use exclamation points in place of periods, giving every message a tone of intensity, and diluting out the excitement that goes with a well-placed ! I'm also taken aback when I get messages riddled with !s about school events from other parents.
Along these lines, I'm thinking about how to deal with the requisite Thanks/Thank you/Thank you for your attention that close most work e-mails. Looking forward to reader comments on this particular article.
3
@Sushirrito, I would use "Thank you" if I don't know or don't have a daily working relationship with the recipient of the e-mail; I would use "Thanks" if I do. It would also depend on the seriousness of the message itself, but if I was requesting, e.g., Human Resources to look into an abuse problem, I might close with "Thank you for your attention" or something like that.
It is difficult to decide though. I ask two questions: How well do I know the recipient, and what is the seriousness of the e-mail, but for the record, I'm not always right.
5
@Sushirrito, I sometimes use versions of, “Thank you so much for looking into this/helping me with this/your time,” etc. the “so” replaces the !.
2
Men may not like it when a woman uses to many exclamation points, but women don't like when men use none where they should. Remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) breaks up with a guy because he neglected to add an exclamation point on his note to her that "your friend had a baby"?
51
@thm, I disagree with you. I don't think exclamation points are necessarily male vs. female punctuation. I think it's more of a mature vs. immature mark when it's overused.
I remember Elaine, and I liked the character very much. I remember the episode where she went on a first date, and in an effort to explain to Seinfeld why the date was unsuccessful, she said, "He took it out!"
That demands an exclamation point.
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@thm
Do you really want to model your social behavior after a Seinfeld episode?
4
@thm With all due respect, your first to should be too!
7