Transitional Words and Phrases
Use a comma after parenthetical expressions: AFTER ALL, AS A MATTER OF FACT, BY THE WAY, FOR EXAMPLE, I BELIEVE, HOWEVER, CONSEQUENTLY,etc.
As a matter of fact, I was just going to call you.
Note: When a transitional word or phrase interrupts a clause, it is set off by a pair of commas.
Gillian, by the way, is my half-sister.
Alternative or Contrasting Phrases
A phrase that expresses an alternative or a contrast is usually set off by commas.
It was a special, even magical, evening.
This medication should be taken after a meal, never on an empty stomach.
It was Diana Ivanovna, not Vladimir Mikhailovich, who asked the final question.
Absolute Phrases
An absolute phrase, which usually consists of a noun plus a participle, is always set off by commas from the sentence it modifies.
His fear increasing, he waited to enter the haunted house.
The Roanoke colonists vanished in 1591, their bodies never recovered.
Other Non-Essential Elements
Use a comma after words such asWELL, WHY, YES, NO,etc., when they begin a sentence.
Well, I will think it over.
Yes, I can join you tomorrow.
Use commas to set off direct addresses and names.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Taplow, I spoke to you on the telephone about the possibility of a summer job.
Helen, did you hear what I said?
Doctor, what is your opinion?
I wonder, Mr. Honeywell, whether Mr.Albright deserves a raise.
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Use commas where they are necessary.
1. Basically there is no problem with your work but you are late for class too often.
2. I know Raymond that you can do better.
3. What is your chief complaint gentlemen?
4. Tuesday’s test was difficult in fact I think I failed.
5. First of all my room is very small.
6. I can’t afford buying the textbook for class anyway the teacher said it is not required.
7. It is in my opinion an interesting book.
8. That’s of course only one opinion.
Using Comma in Other Conventional Contexts
Using Commas Around Direct Quotations
In most cases, use comma to set off a direct quotation from the identifying tag – the phrase that identifies the speaker (he said, she answered):
Emerson said to Thorau, “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.”
For more detailed treatment of direct quotations, see Section “Quotation Marks” on page 37.
Using Commas between Names and Titles or Degrees
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Use commas to set off a degree or title that follows a person’s name.
Barbara Kane, M.D., delivered the commencement address.
Note: If the title or degree precedes the name, however, no comma is required:
Dr.Koop, Prince Hamlet
But Jr., Sr., and III may be written without commas:
Sammy Davis Jr. started his singing career at age four.
Oliver III glanced across at me.
The comma is used after the last part of a proper name when the last part comes first:
Lunt, George D.
Using Commas in Dates and Addresses
Commas are used with full dates (month, day, and year) but are omitted with partial dates (month and year):
Gas had first been used by the Germans on October 27, 1914, when they fired a prototype of modern tear gas from an artillery near Ypres. (Paul Fussell)
In June 1985 Beth Henley was working on her fifth play.
India became independent on August 15, 1947.
Note: No comma is used to separate parts of a date that begins with the day:
The atomic bomb was first dropped on 6 August 1945.
Commas are required between most of the elements in place names and addresses:
Miami, Dade County, Florida
Writing Lab, University of California, Riverside
Note: Do not use a comma to separate a street number from the name of the street or to separate a state from zip code:
15 Amsterdam Avenue
5625 Waverly Avenue, La Jolla, California 92037
In a complete sentence, a comma must follow the last element of place names, addresses, or dates:
He shot himself twice, once in the chest and then in the head, in a police station in Washington, D.C., with the cops looking on. (Red Smith)
July 4, 1776, was the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Using Commas with Greetings, Closings, and Large Numbers
Commas are used after the greeting in a friendly or informal letter, and after the closing in a letter of any kind:
Dear Mary, Sincerely,
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Dear Uncle Paul, Yours truly,
Note: In business letters, always use a colon, not a comma after the greeting.
Commas are used to mark groups of three digits in large numbers, counting from the right:
Antarctica is 5,400,000 square miles of ice-covered land.
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