Commas with names and titles, simplified the critical reader. Thats because in most types of dialogue, the quoted material stands apart from the surrounding text. Philip roth, author of portnoys complaint and many other books is a. If the title occupation follows the name, use commas around it. There are several uses of the comma that can best be described as conventional or mechanical. When an introductory prepositional phrase is very short less than four words, the comma is usually optional. A study of william shakespeare 1976 stevenson presents. Use commas after introductory a clauses, b phrases, or c words that come before the main clause. I just got another email from somebody whose email signature is soandso, mba.
We use commas while combining multiple phrases in one sentence or writing about different items in a list. One of the most frequent errors in comma usage is the placement of a comma after a coordinating conjunction. Whites famous pig, laments that it is difficult to find a good friend who writes well. Do you place the comma after parentheses or before. Commas should sometimes be placed before and after names and titles. If a colon appears elsewhere on the title page, change the punctuation to a comma or semicolon as appropriate. In the following example, commas are used to set off the by phrase because the phrase is not integral to the meaning of the sentence. Whereas a comma is needed before and after the state in formulations such as new york, new york, when the city and state are used as the title of a work, no comma is needed following the name of the state, unless the grammar of the rest of the sentence requires it after watching the movie new york, new york, we went out to dinner. Is a comma necessary after the word titled, as in the. I was reading the book for whom the bell tolls, by ernest hemingway. It is incorrect to place only one comma before the name or. Use commas before and after a parenthetical phrase or clause.
Which reminds me of the business cards, and letters, and promotional material i see where people brandish those three letters after their name. Also do not include both a persons title, such as doctor, and their corresponding degree, such as m. Youll often see commas and parentheses used alongside one another. There are more usages of a comma, for example, how adding or removing comma before and after a name changes the meaning of the sentence. Generally speaking, commas should never be placed before parentheses. Homer wrote two books that are set against the backdrop of the. May 21, 2012 whenever you find yourself using a comma before an identification, characterization or explanation, remember that there has to be a comma after the i. Do not use a comma for titles that appear before the persons name, such as the reverend joe smith or doctor mary richards. Read professor bill bicks article why there will be more jobs when the economy recovers.
When to use commas after introductory prepositional phrases. We set off a persons title with commas so the reader. Harper lees demand to lose the comma from the book title go, set a watchman highlights the paucity of novels with the lowly punctuation mark john dugdale fri. Most popular comma in title movies and tv shows imdb. Lets start with the fact that unless a name or title is the last words in a sentence, it can either be used with no commas at all, or with a comma both before and after. But that changes if the sentence includes any kind of introductory phrase. If a period is needed, we insert the period before the ellipsis and set the. When to use commas before quotations quick and dirty tips. If the ellipsis is part of the title, we add the period or comma after the ellipsis. To quack but to have no one hear is a sad thing for a duck. A botched card game in london triggers four friends, thugs, weedgrowers, hard gangsters, loan sharks and debt collectors to collide with each other in a series of unexpected events, all for the sake of weed, cash and two antique shotguns. When i was younger, i had a cat named whiskers the magical cat. My friend, jane has a lot more gardening experience than i do. For example, this usage of but does not take a comma.
My estate goes to my husband, son, daughterinlaw, and nephew. Harper lee novel title change harper lees demand to lose the comma from the book title go, set a watchman highlights the paucity of novels with the lowly punctuation mark. Using commas before names or titles sallyhanans blog. We know which book youre describing without you naming it. The correct way to use commas with names and titles. While a comma after the title may be correct on rare occasions which dont concern us here, a comma only before a name or title is wrong. If attribution comes after the quote, put the comma inside the quotation marks. Most authorities, including the associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style, recommend a comma after the first digit of a fourdigit. Here are two examples from the first book in the game of thrones series. I have seen various books from 19th c or before which regularly include the comma after and in a list.
The test is trying to remove the name that follows. Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more items. There is an outside chance that youll need a comma both before titled and after the book title. The first thing to know is that there are generally only two correct options. One use for commas is to separate a persons name from his or her title. Should commas be used around by and an authors name after a title. Nov 30, 2011 the book, titled my lifelong challenge. According to wilbur, good friends who write well are not easy to find. She was reading a book, a thousand splendid suns, which is quite a classic read. Explain using commas to punctuate peoples titles say. Sep 05, 2017 whether you should use a comma before or after but depends on the sentence construction. If the title comes directly before the name and is used as a title, rather than as an occupation, use no comma to separate it from the person.
Use a comma after an introductory phrase or clause. But in the example below, no commas are used around the by phrases because the authors names. You do not need commas here because the book title is essential information. However, you might try to find some other way to say it, for example, by incorporating the title into the previous or the following sentence.
Putting commas before and and but may be acceptable in american english, but it is not in aussie english, although there are times you might have a comma before them. While a comma after the title may be correct on rare occasions which dont. You need bracketing commas before and after the part i have coloured blue. Remember, too, that titles may be more than one word. Michael wolff, reading it is perfectly fine to use a comma before and. If you learned in school that you should always put a comma before someones name, im. Like and but is a conjunction, a word to join phrases into a sentence.
A persons title describes his or her job or education. Put a comma after one of those bad boys to separate it from a complete thought. You should only put a comma before but when connecting two independent clauses. The use or omission of the comma is well established, and writers need only to apply the rules. Roald dahl wrote a book titled, matilda, and it was a huge sucess. When referencing a book in a written paper, do i place a commas after the authors name and before the book title. In this article let us understand how to correctly use commas with names. Should there be a comma before the title, as in the book. Is it grammaticaly correct to place a comma after and. Yes, the comma goes inside the quotation marks and after the question mark because the question mark is part of the periodicals title. As a general rule, you should use a comma to introduce quoted material or dialogue. Should commas be used around by and an authors name after. Life after life, by kate atkinson, won several book awards.
For the trained eyes, there is nothing more annoying than looking at a book which is just one letter away from perfect. The five comma rules that rule the world hamilton college. Aug 05, 2018 put a comma after one of those bad boys to separate it from a complete thought. Should commas be used around by and an authors name after a. Common starter words for introductory clauses that should be followed by a comma include after, although, as, because, if, since, when, while. The sentence you want to write might go her book, snow country, was read by millions. Aug 28, 2009 a comma is used before the word and when it is used to connect two independent clauses phrases that can stand alone as sentences. The title doesnt function as a comma, and there should be no comma. In that case, a comma follows the introductory phrase and comes before the title.
The comma after the name also tells us that the information after the name is essential to identify the person. Do you use a comma after a book title in a sentence answers. If you remove the by phrases, the sentence is nonsensical. Recognizing the structure of a sentence will help you identify when you should use it. Do you place a comma before a poems title in a sentence. Question mark and comma midsentence the editors blog. Apr 26, 2008 you would put a comma before a book title. The comma would go outside the quotation marks for bre. Because the colon indicates the beginning of a subtitle, colons should not be used elsewhere in the title or subtitle. This use of the poems title is also called an appositive, meaning that the title equals or renames another noun phrase in the sentence. As we see, the main places where commas are necessary before after names are u where the sentence is focussing on a particular person. But in the example below, no commas are used around the by phrases because the authors names are needed to distinguish works with the same title.
The rule is either have the commas both before and after a name, or dont. If attribution comes before the quote, place the comma outside the quotations marks. Splice girls, and boys comma splice is a term used for the linking of two independent clauses that is, grammatical units that contain a subject and a verb and could stand. Commas punctuation rules the blue book of grammar and. The most important rules for using commas without looking. In grammatical terms, its syntactically independent. That, at any rate, is the position that the chicago manual of style, sixteenth edition 2010 takes. A comma is used before the word and when it is used to connect two independent clauses phrases that can stand alone as sentences. You need commas here because this information is nonessential or parenthetical information. The only time this doesnt apply is if therere two books with identical titles but different authors. Is a comma necessary after the word titled, as in the book. But if the phrase is longer than four words, use a comma. But that changes if the sentence includes any kind of. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughterinlaw in the above example, it is known as the oxford comma.
Singapores bilingual journey, is also available in chinese. If you find yourself wondering whether you should put commas. Use a comma when a conjunctive adverb begins, interrupts, or concludes a sentence. We cannot say that the comma will always come before the conjunction and never after, but it would be a rare event, indeed, that we need to follow a coordinating conjunction with a comma. And do you use periods, this is on a business card. We explore best practices for punctuation in book titles, title pages, chapter headings, and more. Let our own editor, roger siebert, guide you on whether you need commas around a book title. Most current reference books, while not requiring this serial comma also. The title should be in italics how i became a millionaire. Consider the examples below, and note the proper comma placement. Punctuating book title and by author name in a sentence. What punctuation if any is required after titled, as in, in a book. Dec 29, 2017 whereas a comma is needed before and after the state in formulations such as new york, new york, when the city and state are used as the title of a work, no comma is needed following the name of the state, unless the grammar of the rest of the sentence requires it after watching the movie new york, new york, we went out to dinner.
Lets start with the fact that unless a name or title is the. The book title, book, is not parenthetical content in your sentence. I dont think that mba thing behind your name works out for you. No commas, either before or after matilda and matilda would normally be underscored or italicised rather than enclosed in quotes. But remember, there is always that pesky exception the rule. Nov 08, 2015 comma goes inside the ending quote because a title of a work is being referenced, correct. Normally there might be a slight pause at the commas when reading the sentence, but a slight pause when reading is not a reason to introduce a comma when the grammar does not require it. If you learned in school that you should always put a comma before someones name, im very sorry to inform you that your teacher was mistaken.
If the title comes directly before the name and is used as a title. Titles on business cards in a personss title is there a comma after the name, but before the title acronym. Asked in grammar, sentence and word structure, example sentences. Perhaps we shouldnt give up on paper books just yet. If one uses quotation marks say, the title of a book, like a. Do you use a comma before a title of a book in a sentence. You need a comma after movie because this and only this is mr. It is incorrect to place only one comma before the name or title. The phrase by ernest hemingway isnt essential to the sentences meaning.
695 440 266 115 1216 601 916 398 1432 1384 1333 852 310 979 1464 183 1262 913 1399 57 668 96 871 1466 78 171 1006 512 873 235 227 1165