Comma Chameleon – Part 2 – A Bit More Tricky

Here’s Part 2 of the Comma Rules. There’s only a few left, but they can be a bit tricky for some of us. If you missed, COMMA, COMMA, COMMA CHAMELEON: COMMON COMMA RULES, PART 1, please go back and read through it as well.

General Comma Rules, con’t:

* A comma should follow expressions:

namely, for example, that is, for instance, especially.

- Some members of the political party plead guilty; namely, Chester Dester, Lucy Lurker, and Tony Baloney.

- I love European chocolate; especially, dark chocolate.

* A comma is used to introduce a quotation OR to complete a quotation that does not conclude the sentence.

Note: Commas and periods are placed “within” the quotation marks.

- Lucky’s teacher said, “It’s raining out there.”

- “But I really don’t mind the rain,” Lucky replied.

Note #2: Commas should not be used to introduce indirect quotations.

- Lucky answered that he did not mind the rain.

*If you need a mild exclamatory, you can use a comma instead of an exclamation point.

-Well, I don’t mind the rain.

Commas in Addresses:

Addresses in block form:

* Use a comma after a name if it is followed by a title and between titles if there’s more than one.

* Use a comma between a city (or county) and its state.

* Do not place a comma between a state and its zip code.

Mr. John Jacobs, Manager
Jingleheimer Productions
123 Some Street
Hamilton, NY 10167

Note: This format pertains to the United States. If you live outside the US, please comment and share the format for addresses in your country. Thanks!

*Use a comma after each self-contained item of information when writing out an address in a sentence.

- Please send the money to Mr. John Jacobs, Manager, Jingleheimer Productions, 123 Some Street, Hamilton, NY 10167.

Comma Rules for Dates, Numbers, etc.

*Use a comma between the day of the month and the year.

- September 12, 2009

*No comma is needed if the date is omitted.

- Septermber 2009

Note: There are two other acceptable forms.

- 12 September 2009 (no comma)

- the twelfth of September, 2009 (most commonly used for invitations)

*A comma goes between the day of the week and the month.

- We arrived on Saturday, September 12, 2009.

* Use a comma in numbers that contain 4 or more digits.

5,607,159     156,792        3,212

Some writers omit the comma in 4 digit numbers if they are multiples of 50

2500   2250   1050

Commas are omitted in street numbers, page numbers and phone numbers

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.     555-1212      page 1601

That concludes the rules for commas. They can be difficult, but if you read through them periodically they will get easier.

Written by Patti Stafford from Patti Stafford
Posted on September 14th, 2009 and filed under Writing
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