Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Use commas with dates, addresses, titles, and numbers
The comma
Punctuation

Dates

In dates, set off the year from the rest of the sentence with a pair of commas.

EXCEPTIONS: Commas are not needed if the date is inverted or if only the month and year are given: 15 April 2009; January 2021.

Addresses

The elements of an address or a place name are separated with commas. A zip code, however, is not preceded by a comma.

Titles

If a title follows a name, set off the title with a pair of commas.

Numbers

In numbers more than four digits long, use commas to separate the numbers into groups of three, starting from the right. In numbers four digits long, a comma is optional.

EXCEPTIONS: Do not use commas in street numbers, zip codes, telephone numbers, or years with four or fewer digits.

EXERCISE 33-4

This exercise covers the major uses of the comma described in 33a—33e. Add or delete commas where necessary. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it. Answers appear in the back of the book.

a. Cricket which originated in England is also popular in Australia, South Africa and India.

b. At the sound of the starting pistol the horses surged forward toward the first obstacle, a sharp incline three feet high.

c. After seeing an exhibition of Western art Gerhard Richter escaped from East Berlin, and smuggled out many of his notebooks.

d. Corrie’s new wet suit has an intricate, blue pattern.

e. We replaced the rickety, old, spiral staircase with a sturdy, new ladder.

EXERCISE 33-5

This exercise covers the major uses of the comma described in 32a—32e. Edit the following paragraph to correct any comma errors.

Hope for Paws, a nonprofit rescue organization in Los Angeles tells many sad stories of animal abuse and neglect. Most of the stories, however have happy endings. One such story involves Woody, a dog left behind, after his master died. For a long lonely year, Woody took refuge under a neighbor’s shed, waiting in vain, for his master’s return. He survived on occasional scraps from his neighbors who eventually contacted Hope for Paws. When rescuers reached Woody, they found a malnourished, and frightened dog who had one blind eye and dirty, matted, fur. Gently, Woody was pulled from beneath the shed, and taken to the home of a volunteer, who fosters orphaned pets. There, Woody was fed, shaved, bathed and loved. Woody’s story had the happiest of endings, when a family adopted him. Now Woody has a new forever home and he is once again a happy, well-loved dog.

EXERCISE 33-6

This exercise covers all uses of the comma. Add or delete commas where necessary in the following sentences. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it. Answers appear in the back of the book.

a. On January 16, 2017 our office moved to 29 Commonwealth Avenue, Mechanicsville VA 23111.

b. The coach having resigned after the big game, we left the locker room in shock.

c. Ms. Carlson you are a valued customer whose satisfaction is very important to us.

d. Mr. Mundy was born on July 22, 1939 in Arkansas, where his family had lived for four generations.

e. Her board poised at the edge of the half-pipe, Shanice waited her turn to drop in.