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1.1. THE COMMA

Using Commas with Dates, Addresses, Greetings, Names, and Large Numbers
Commas are used with full dates (month, day, and year) but are omitted with partial
dates (month and year):
e.g. Gas had first been used by the Germans on October 27, 1914, when they fired
a prototype of modern tear gas from artillery near Ypres. - Paul Fussell
Exceptions: No comma is used to separate parts of a date that begins with the day:
e.g. The atomic bomb was first dropped on 6 August 1945.
Commas are required between most of the elements in place names and addresses:
e.g. Miami, Dade County, Florida
Writing Lab, University of California, Riverside
Exceptions: Do not use a comma to separate a street number from the name of the
street: e.g. 15 Amsterdam Avenue
Do not use a comma to separate a state from a zip code: e.g. 5625 Waverly Avenue,
La Jolla, California 92037

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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas with Dates, Addresses, Greetings, Names, and Large Numbers
In a complete sentence, a comma must follow the last element of place names, addresses, or
dates: e.g. July 4, 1776, was the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Commas are used to set off the names of someone directly addressed in a sentence: e.g. A few
weeks ago, Mr. Taplow, I spoke to you on the telephone about the possibility of a summer job.
Commas are used after the greeting in a friendly or informal letter, and after the closing in a letter
of any kind: e.g. Dear Mary, Dear Uncle Paul, Sincerely, Yours truly.
Commas are used to set off titles or degrees after a person's name: e.g. Barbara Kane, M.D.,
delivered the commencement address.
But Jr., Sr., and /// may be written without commas: e.g. Sammy Davis Jr. started his singing
career at age of four.
The comma is used after the last part of a proper name when the last part comes first: e.g. Lunt,
George D.
Commas are used to mark groups of three digits in large numbers, counting from the right: e.g.
Antarctica is 5,400,000 square miles of ice-covered land.

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1.1. THE COMMA

Using Commas with Conjunctions

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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas with Conjunctions
In serious discussions the comma is used by most writers to join coordinate
clauses in the following situation:
• When the series of statements takes the form of a climax: e.g. I came, I
saw, I conquered.
• When the statements form an antithesis, or are arranged in the "it was not
merely this, it was also that" formula:
e.g. It was more than an annoyance, it was a pang. -Winston S. Churchill
"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." (Goethe)
"Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your
jobs, not ours." (President Barack Obama, election night victory speech, November 7,
2012)

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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas with Coordinate Items in a Series
Commas are used to separate three or more items in a series, including the last two
items when they are joined by a coordinating conjunction: e.g She loved life, liberty,
and the happiness of being pursued. Commas are not required if the items in the
series are all joined by coordinating conjunctions.
e.g. I'd like to be considered good and honest and reasonably accurate. -Red Smith
on sports writing
The comma should not be used before a conjunction within a series of just two items:
e.g. The manager was genial but shrewd.
Exception: You may use a comma to set off a contrasting phrase:
e.g. She liked running her own business, but not working on week-ends.

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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas with Coordinate Items in a Series
Commas are used between coordinate adjectives but are not used between non-
coordinate adjectives. In your own sentences with adjective series, you can apply two
tests to determine whether the adjectives are coordinate: the adjectives are coordinate
and should be separated by commas if you can reorder the adjectives without changing
the meaning, or if the word and or but can be inserted between the adjectives without
changing the meaning. e.g. I was a very shy, timid kid. -Red Smith
A safe practice is to omit the comma with numerals and with the common adjectives of
size and age: e.g. The little old lady.
Non-coordinate adjectives generally follow a certain order of arrangement.
Opinion good, attractive, beautiful, delicious...
Size large, small, enormous...
Age old, new, modern, young...
Length or shape long, short, square, round...
Color red, blue, green...
Origin (nationality, religion) American, French, Muslim, Christian...
Material plastic, woolen, wooden, cotton..
Purpose electric (wire) , tennis (shirt)
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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas After Introductory Elements
The following introductory clauses and phrases set off by commas include adverb clauses and
phrases, participial phrases, absolute phrases, appositive phrases, etc. e.g.
ADVERB CLAUSE: After the rains came, the country turned green.
PARTICIPIAL PHRASE Jogging through the park, I was unexpectedly caught in a
downpour.
ABSOLUTE PHRASE: His hat pushed back on his forehead, he walked down the road
whistling. -Maya Angelou
APPOSITIVE PHRASE: A student of human frailty, she probably knew deep in her soul
that he was one of life's losers. -Russell Baker
Nonrestrictive appositives are usually set off by commas, parentheses, or dashes.
e.g. The sky was sunless and grey, there was snow in the air, buoyant motes, play things that
seethed and floated like the toy flakes inside a crystal. – (Truman Capote, "The Muses Are
Heard")
e.g. Ben's brother Bob helped him build the house. – (Gary Lutz and Diane Stevenson, The
Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference. F+W Publications, 2005)
If Ben has more than one brother, the name Bob would be necessary to identify which brother
is being discussed--in other words, to restrict the meaning of the word brother. If Ben has only
one brother, the name Bob would be additional information not essential to the meaning of the
sentence; Bob would be a nonrestrictive appositive. Nonrestrictive appositives are always set off
by punctuation. Since no punctuation surrounds the appositive Bob in this example, we know that
Bob is a restrictive appositive (and that Ben has more than one brother). 9
1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas to Prevent Misreading or to Mark an Omission
In some sentences words may run together in unintended and confusing ways unless a
comma separates them. A comma is used in such sentences even though no rule
requires one:
Confusing *Soon after she left town for good. [A short introductory phrase does not
require a comma, but clarity requires it in this sentence.]
Revised Soon after, she left town for good.

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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas with Nonrestrictive Elements
Clauses and phrases that provide information about the noun they modify but are not
essential to understanding the meaning of the noun within its sentence are called
nonrestrictive. That is, they are said not to restrict the meaning. Such clauses and
phrases must be set off from the rest of the sentence with commas:
e.g. My new running shoes, which cost more than a hundred dollars, fell apart during
the marathon.
Many clauses and phrases, however, are essential to understanding the meaning of the
noun. These are called restrictive and are not set off with commas.
e.g. The glory which is built upon a lie soon becomes a most unpleasant
encumbrance. -Mark Twain

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1.1. THE COMMA
Using Commas with Contrast Phrases
Commas are used to set off contrast phrases. Some writers use a special sentence
pattern that sets up an obvious contrast. These sentences generally end with a negative
phrase (beginning with not or no or nothing). These negative phrases are always set off
with commas:
e.g. She spoke with a slight accent, nothing like the cadences I heard on
Lafontaine, not marked enough to mimic. -Kate Simon

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1.2. THE SEMICOLON
You may use a semicolon to join independent clauses if the second clause restates or
sets up a contrast to the first: e.g. We know through painful experience that freedom is
never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
You may use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the second begins
with or includes a conjunctive adverb (however, nevertheless, moreover, consequently,
etc.): e.g. Shakespeare's plays are four hundred years old; nevertheless, they still
speak to us.
Commas are optional with thus, then, and some other one-syllable conjunctive
adverbs; and commas are usually omitted when therefore, instead, and a few other
adverbs fall inside or at the ends of clauses: e.g. She skipped first grade; thus she is
younger than her classmates. She skipped first grade; she is therefore younger than
her classmates. I did not buy the book; I borrowed it instead.

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1.3. THE COLON
The colon is a formal mark that mainly serves an introductory purpose. The colon is used after an
independent clause to introduce a list: e.g. Success depends on three things: talent,
determination, and luck.
Note: Do not use a colon after such as, including, or a form of the verb to be: e.g. On rainy
days at camp, we played board games such as Monopoly, Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit.
Still in my locker were my toilet kit, my flashlight, and my wallet - now empty.
The colon is used to introduce an example or an explanation related to something just
mentioned: e.g. The animals have a good many of our practical skills: some insects make
pretty fair architects, and beavers know quite a lot about engineering. -Northrop Frye
The colon is used to introduce one or more complete sentences quoted from formal speech
or writing. Commas may also be used, but a colon provides greater pause and emphasis: e.g. In
the opening sentence of his novel Scoromouche, Rafael Sabatini says of his hero: "He was
born with the gift of laughter, and a sense that the world was mad."
The colon separates titles and subtitles, and the parts of Biblical citations: e.g. Charles
Dickens: An Introduction to His Novels. Isaiah 28:1 - 6

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1.4. THE DASH
A dash or dashes are used to introduce a word, phrase, or a clause that summarises or restates what comes
just before:
e.g. But ideas – that is, opinions backed with genuine reasoning – are extremely difficult to develop.
-Wayne Booth
Dashes are used to set off a series of specific items:
e.g. The wings of the natural extant flying vertebrates – the birds and the bats – are direct modifications
of the preexisting front limbs. -Michael 1 Katz
A dash or dashes are used to set off an interruption that is important to the meaning of the sentence but not
grammatically part of it: e.g. It matters not where or how far you travel – the farther commonly the worse
– but how much alive you are. -Henry David Thoreau
A dash or dashes are used to emphasise nonrestrictive elements: e.g. The qualities Monet painted –
sunlight, rich shadows, deep colours – abounded near the rivers and gardens he used as subjects.
A dash is used to indicate an unfinished thought or an unfinished remark in dialogue: e.g. If she found out
– he did not want to think what she would do.
When the dash is used to indicate an unfinished remark, it should be followed only by quotation marks,
not by a comma or period.
e.g. "I was worried you might think I had stayed away because I was influenced by –" He stopped and
lowered his eyes. Astonished, Howe said, "Influenced by what?" "Well, by –" Blackburn hesitated and for
answer pointed to the table. - Lionel Trilling
If two dashes set off a parenthetical remark that asks a question or makes an exclamation, put the question
mark or the exclamation point before the second dash: e.g. During the American bicentennial of 1976,
Canada's gift to the United States was a book of superb photographs of – what else? – scenery. -June
Callwood
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 Distinguishing Dashed, Commas, and Parentheses
Dashes, commas, and parentheses may all set off nonessential information such
as nonrestrictive modifiers and parenthetical expressions.
• Dashes give the information the greatest emphasis:
e.g. Many students – including some employed by the college – disapprove of the
new work rules.
• Commas are less emphatic:
e.g. Many students, including some employed by the college, disapprove of the new
work rules.
• Parentheses, the least emphatic, signal that the information is just worth
mentioning:
e.g. Many students (including some employed by the college) disapprove of the
new work rules.

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   1.5. CAPITALS
Capitalise the first word of a sentence, including sentences enclosed in parentheses:
e.g. The Constitution provided that states be equally represented in the Senate, but that the House
of Representatives be elected on the basis of population. (Slaves were counted as three-fifths of a
person.)
Note: Capitalisation of questions in a series is optional. Both of the following examples are
correct:
e.g. Is the population a hundred? Two hundred? More? Is the population a hundred? two
hundred? more?
Do not capitalise university or other kinds of institutions when the reference is general rather
than specific:
e.g. Billy was fortunate enough to be admitted to several universities.
. Note 2: Pronouns referring to God are usually capitalised: e.g. From Him all blessings flow.
Capitalise personal titles when they precede proper names but generally not when they follow
proper names or appear alone:
e.g. Professor Otto Osborne Otto Osborne, a professor of English
Doctor Jane Covington Jane Covington, a medical doctor
Exception: Many writers capitalise a title denoting very high rank even when it follows a proper
name or is used alone:
e.g. Lyndon Johnson, past President of the United States; the Chief Justice of the United States.

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   1.5. CAPITALS
Capitalise a term denoting kinship when it is used before a name, used as a name and when
not preceded by a possessive pronoun or the article the: e.g. Used as Mom, Dad wants to know
when dinner will be ready. Please give this book to Uncle Mark.
But My mom and dad want me to be home by 10:00 at night. Next week, I’m going to the
museum with my uncle, Mark.
In all titles and subtitles of works, capitalise the first and last words and all other words
except articles (a, an, the), to in infinitives, and connecting words (prepositions and coordinating
and subordinating conjunctions) of fewer than five letters. Capitalise even these short words
when they are the first or last word in a title or when they fall after colon or semicolon:
e.g. The Sound and the Fury Management: A New Theory
"Courtship Through the Ages" "Once More to the Lake"
Note: Always capitalise the prefix or first word in a hyphenated word within a title. Capitalise
the second word only if it is a noun or and adjective or is as important as the first word:
e.g. "Applying Stage Make-up" Through the Looking-Glass
The Pre-Raphaelites
Capitalise compass directions to refer to specific geographical areas: e.g. the Northeast,
Southerners
Do not capitalise compass directions when they are used generally: e.g. southern exposure,
western life
Capitalise names of specific courses: e.g. I registered for Sociology 101 and Chemistry 445.
Note: Do not capitalise studies (other than languages) that do not name specific courses: e.g.
I am taking English, sociology, and chemistry. 20