by Anja » Mon Jan 25, 2010 3:31 pm
I’m going to keep adding “comma rules” every few days, from the simplest usage to the most difficult.
Commas - Part 2
Use commas when writing dates, geographical names, addresses, and titles after names.
She was born on March 11, 1889, in Telemark, Norway, and died on September 24, 1970, in New York, New York, USA.
Who lives at 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada?
Alex Gallagher, Ph.D., was the keynote speaker at the HIV conference in June 2002.
Yes, all those commas. Yes, there MUST be a comma after every element.
But, note the “absent” comma in the last example. NO comma is needed if the month and year are the only elements of the date.
Use commas to set off words in DIRECT ADDRESS.
It is your responsibility, John, to take care of the animals.
I think, ma’am, you have missed the train.
Fellow Canadians, I urge you to respond to the situation in Haiti.
Use commas to set off mild INTERJECTIONS and after / before “yes” and “no” and “please.”
No, I will not be going to the concert.
Oh, take it away, please.
Yes, there will be a potluck on Sunday.
Use commas to set off certain parenthetical elements. (Parenthetical = non-essential.)
Remember, however, to turn the tap off when you are finished.
It was, I believe, the third time she failed the driver’s test.
Questions?
Ann Grover
"What remains of a story after it is finished? Another story..." Eli Wiesel
Well, not nothing, you found a missing word. That was a HUGE help! 
