Comma placement rules are nonetheless precarious in many cases, particularly in writing people’s names.
We may tend to consult Mr. Google before deciding whether or not to separate entities with commas.
Being in the digital age has also made us quite dependent on direct messaging tools, which, in turn, exacerbated our complacency on punctuation rules.
To address this issue, this post will help you recapitulate the comma-related guidelines with people’s names, or in particular in a direct address.
Should we place a comma before or after a direct address?
Although the digital era has induced leniency towards punctuation usage, a direct address does require a comma placement before, after, or on both sides when it is used in a written text. A pre-comma should be placed by default in writing names at the end of a sentence. Inversely, a post-comma is necessary when using a name in a sentence-initial position, as well as when using it in the salutation or greeting part of a casual letter. Lastly, two commas, one on each side, should enclose a name when using it in a sentence-medial position.
What is a direct address?
A direct address is not the name of the place where we live, but it rather is the title or name used for calling people or other entities in written texts.
As one of the jobs of the written language is to effectively mimic the oral speech, the direct address is one way of representing this function.
Moreover, pets, plants, and cars may also be given names by their owners, and thus, these names also fall under the direct address category.
A direct address may also be in a form of endearments, such as dear, honey, darling, sweetie, baby, pumpkin, cupcake, and bubba.
It may also come as name titles such as architect, doctor, teacher, ma’am, sir, madame, or mister.
Furthermore, a direct address is used in texts when a person directly communicates with another person, as opposed to only talking “about” the person.
This is more formally known as direct or quoted speech wherein a direct address serves as one major component of the speech used within the quotation marks.
A direct address must always be set off with a comma or commas whenever they are used in written text.
People’s names are treated as parenthetical elements in writing and hence explains the necessity of the commas.
Parenthetical expressions are comma-enclosed grammatically-removable items that add meaning and focus to a sentence.
They are stylistic accessories that assist persuasion as well as a catharsis of a writer’s inner thoughts and emotions.
The utilization of direct address in both written and oral language goes beyond the simplistic purpose of identifying a person’s name.
It also serves as a parasocial device that enhances relationships by increasing the intimacy between and among interlocutors.
In simple words, a direct address is important because it creates a sense of friendliness or warmth to and from people.
Comma before a direct address
One utterly easy-to-remember circumstance guides the comma placement rule before a direct address.
This happens when it is used to address a person or any other entity at the end of the sentence.
When placing any names at the end of a sentence, a comma must always come before it.
Note, though, that Danny is the direct address in the example above and not Layla.
The words outside the before the opening quotation marks are part of the indirect speech which will be elaborated more later.
We may also use a direct address in an interrogative sentence or question, and a comma must come before it when it is the last word used.
The quotation marks have already been removed for a clearer representation of the example.
Comma after a direct address
In this section, the two guidelines for the post-comma placement will be expounded together with examples.
A post comma placement will be required when using a name or direct address at the beginning of a sentence and in the greeting part of a letter.
Sentence-initial position
Contrary to the pre-comma rule, a comma must come after a direct address when it is positioned at the beginning of a sentence instead.
This is true with or without the quotation marks.
The same rule also applies either in a declarative or interrogative sentence type as well.
Additionally, the exclamation point should go inside the closing quotation marks as it is part of the original speech.
No comma should also come after the closing quotation marks.
This is because the exclamation point and quotation marks already suffice the needed compartmentalization of speech elements.
The direct address in the sentence above is the name after the opening marks which is Lucy and not Dana.
Letter greetings
Letter greetings also commonly include a direct address that needs a post-comma placement.
Note, though, that the comma should come after the name of the person or title and not after the endearment used.
Dear John,
My dearest Bob,
Dear and dearest serve as adjectives that modify the names, so they would not necessitate any commas at all.
Besides, a letter’s closing remark such as sincerely yours, love, and yours truly are not examples of a direct address, but they do need a post-comma placement too.
Commas before and after a direct address
Commas that surround a direct address on both sides are also easy to spot and use.
Names that inserted mid-sentence automatically requires surrounding commas.
Sentence-medial position
When a direct address comes mid-sentence, commas on both sides are essentially placed so as to distinguish it as a parenthetical rather than an essential sentence element.
A person’s name located in a medial position is treated as a removable parenthetical element, which is also true with the previous examples.
Therefore, commas must encapsulate this element to segregate it from the rest of the sentence.
When do we not need commas in a direct address?
Now that we have fully covered the yardsticks that govern comma placement, it should be easier to understand the non-placement rule.
This happens when we talk about a person as opposed to talking to the person directly.
This writing technique is referred to as indirect speech, which completely antagonizes the comma placement rules previously explained.
Indirect speech
The opposite of direct speech which utilizes the direct address is known as the indirect or reported speech format.
This is done when we restate, report, or describe what someone says instead of talking directly to this person.
In reported speeches, the person’s name is not singled out with commas any longer.
Jane asked Sarah to cook some lasagna.
Robert said he couldn’t come tonight either.
Furthermore, indirect speech is not limited to the act of reporting quoted information alone.
It is also the basis of literary writing and casual texts that merely aims to describe the occurrence of events.
Similarly, no commas must be placed before, after, and around the name Elliot in the example above.
Conclusion
Despite comma rules being alarming and confusing at times, their salience in writing is rather unquestionable.
This is especially because commas are punctuation marks that regularly appear in written texts.
Additionally, understanding these sets of rules makes communication more effective, thereby decreasing the chances of misinformation in the process.
Thus, knowing comma-related rules by heart not only increases writing efficiency but also saves us from unnecessary research time.
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Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.