CHAPTER 4 Punctuation: End Marks and Commas^99
- Use a comma to separate a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence.
“When it started raining, did you offer your friends a ride home?”
she asked.
He replied, “No, but I waited with them until their bus arrived.”
“I can understand why you didn’t want to insist,” she said, “but
next time, see if you can convince them to go with you.” - Use commas to separate the day from the year and the year from the rest of
the sentence.
Do you expect to graduate on June 23, 2009?
I graduated on June 23, 2009, and went directly into the Air Force. - Use a comma to separate the name of a city from the name of a state
or country.
We grew up in Austin, Texas.
My favorite trip was to London, England. - A comma is used in both the salutation and the closing of a friendly letter.
Dear Elizabeth,
Sincerely,
Rebecca - When a sentence begins with a complete thought followed by an incomplete
thought, a comma is not necessary,
Incorrect: I always eat a hearty breakfast, before any activity.
Correct: I always eat a hearty breakfast before any activity. - When a sentence has one subject, a comma is not necessary to separate two
verbs.
Incorrect: Harry returned to the polling place, and picked up the car
keys he had left in the booth.
Correct: Harry returned to the polling place and picked up the car
keys he had left in the booth.
Note: Harry is the subject. He did two things, that is, he returned and picked up.