Today’s post is very important. It’s no secret that I love to read blogs and dish about the latest. However, I have noticed that be it in print or actual conversation, there is a major punctuation faux pas that has got to stop. I’m sure you’ve seen this error or have uttered it on occasion with confidence. Allow me to illustrate (I’ll just throw out random names to make a point).
Halle Berry looks good for 42.
Angela Bassett looks good to be in her late forties.
Stacey Dash looks good for her age.
Tina Turner looks good for 68.
Divas, all of these sentences are punctuated incorrectly. Allow me to show you how these sentences should be punctuated:
Halle Berry looks good.
Angela Bassett looks good.
Stacey Dash looks good.
Tina Turner looks good.
Now while some would argue that the adjective should be great, fabulous or fantastic, that is outside of the realm of our lesson today. The point is that the period (.) should follow the adjective. End of sentence.
I’m sure some of you are sitting at your keyboard or looking at your cell phone and thinking “What is the point?”
Well, the truth is there is a lot of hidden energy and emotion in those incorrect sentences above and believe me it’s not positive. The fact is, no one expects someone in their eighties to look sixty or someone who is sixty to look forty. And no one expects someone who is forty to look twenty although I’ve seen it on more than one occasion. So when you say that someone “looks good for…” is that really a compliment? No.
Actually it says more about you as a person and it exposes your beliefs. If you are younger than that person, it may be an indication that you believe that at a certain age you will no longer be able to fulfill your potential, or feel sexy or appealing. In other words you don’t believe you have much of a future. Or, if older, you believe it is already over for you and you’ve given up. It suggest that you believe beauty, success and happiness have expiration dates. This is NOT true, ladies. Beauty, sexiness, happiness, success and even energy do not have ticking clocks.
So the next time you see a dapper elderly gentleman, a grandma who is a fox, or a forty year-old that is a dime, use the correct punctuation when you say it, write it, or think it: They look good.
Any questions?