Eats, Shoots & Leaves
| Author | Lynne Truss |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Punctuation |
| Publisher | Profile Books |
Publication date | 6 November 2003 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 228 |
| ISBN | 978-1-86197-612-3 |
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation is a non-fiction book by Lynne Truss.[1] It was first published in 2003. The book talks about how punctuation is used incorrectly in modern English and why it is important to use it correctly. Truss writes with humour while teaching punctuation rules.
About the book
[change | change source]The book has chapters on different punctuation marks, including:
- Apostrophes
- Commas
- Semicolons and colons
- Exclamation marks, question marks, and quotation marks
- Italics, dashes, brackets, ellipses, and Emoticons
- Hyphens
Truss also shares stories and history about punctuation.
Title meaning
[change | change source]The title comes from a joke about bad punctuation:
A panda walks into a café. He eats a sandwich, takes out a gun, and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the waiter.
The panda shows a wildlife book and says, "Look it up."
The waiter reads: Panda. Large black-and-white animal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.
The comma in the wrong place changes the meaning of the sentence. Without it, the sentence means a panda eats plant shoots and leaves. With the comma, it sounds like the panda eats, then shoots a gun, and leaves the café. This joke shows why punctuation is important.
Success and criticism
[change | change source]The book became very popular, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was on The New York Times bestseller list in 2004. However, some people criticized the book.
- Louis Menand, a writer for The New Yorker, found punctuation mistakes in the book. He said it was strange for a British person to teach Americans about punctuation.[2]
- David Crystal, a linguist, wrote a book called The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot and Left in 2006.[3] He said Truss and other grammar writers try to stop the English language from changing.
- Some people felt the book made people too strict about punctuation. In 2007, comedian Marcus Brigstocke said it made people into "grammar bullies".[4]
Children's version
[change | change source]In 2006, a children's version of the book was published. It was called Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!.[5][6] This version used cartoons to show how commas change meanings.
Related pages
[change | change source]- Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod – a similar book in German
- Standard English
Notes
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- Crystal, David (2006). The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot and Left. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920764-0.
- Keating, Matt (6 November 2007). "Crib sheet – The funny side to dyslexia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- Truss, Lynne (2003). Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. London: Profile Books. ISBN 978-1-86197-612-3.
- — (25 July 2006). Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!. New York (NY): G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0399244919.
- — (14 September 2006). Eats, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference. London: Profile Books. p. 32. ISBN 978-1861978165.
- Menand, Louis (20 June 2004). "Bad comma: Lynne Truss's strange grammar". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007.
