{"id":11249,"date":"2021-03-06T20:55:28","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T20:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=11249"},"modified":"2024-09-16T11:37:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T11:37:02","slug":"comma-after-yesterday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-yesterday\/","title":{"rendered":"Comma after &#8220;yesterday&#8221;: The Definitive Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p>What about the punctuation of the temporal expression &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo;?<\/p>\n<p>Do I need a comma after it or not?<\/p>\n<p>Well, not so fast, please!<\/p>\n<p>The answer to this question is probably more difficult than you would expect.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That said, the short answer to the question is simply: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-sometimes\/\">Sometimes<\/a><\/strong>, it is followed by a comma, and sometimes, it isn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ok, great. Not very helpful, though&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>I agree!<\/p>\n<p>And that&rsquo;s why we will now peruse further into the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"comma usage\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-rules\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">comma usage<\/a> with regards to our temporal expression &ldquo;yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Please bear with me!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n[toc]\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Is &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; followed by a comma?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>If &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is at the beginning of the sentence, then a comma after yesterday is mandatory. In this case, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; functions as an adverb. Alternatively, if &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is in the middle of the sentence or is acting as a noun, then it should usually not be followed by a comma.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&rdquo;Yesterday&rdquo; as a noun<\/h2>\n<p>&ldquo;Yesterday&rdquo; can be either a noun or an adverb. When functioning as a noun, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; behaves in the same fashion as every other noun.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What is that supposed to mean?<\/p>\n<p>It means that it can be the subject of the sentence or the object of a verb. It can also be used as an appositive noun. Ok, that&rsquo;s the simplified version but it should do for now!<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, as well as comparable adverbs of time such as &ldquo;today,&rdquo; tomorrow,&rdquo; in two weeks&rsquo; time and so on, can be either nouns or adverbs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, when &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is used as a noun, it is not all that different from any other noun and, hence, does not get any special treatment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That said, here are a couple of examples that illustrate the use of &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; when it is functioning as a noun.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Yesterday was an amazing day.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Here, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is the subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11297\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin.jpg\" alt=\"Comma after Yesterday \" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-735x1103.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-223x335.jpg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-231x347.jpg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-347x520.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-427x640.jpg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-512x768.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11297 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%201500'%3E%3Crect%20width='1000'%20height='1500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Comma after Yesterday \" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-735x1103.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-223x335.jpg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-231x347.jpg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-347x520.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-427x640.jpg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Comma-after-Yesterday-Pin-512x768.jpg 512w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Does &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; the noun take a comma?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><strong>The answer is usually a clear no. However, it needs to be pointed out that nouns can be used as appositives. And if that is the case, then that noun needs to be encapsulated with two commas (= a comma on both sides).&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is seldomly used as an appositive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&rdquo;Yesterday&rdquo; as an adverb<\/h2>\n<p>When &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is used as an adverb is where things get interesting (at least as far as comma usage with &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; goes).<\/p>\n<p>Now,&nbsp; as far as the placement of yesterday goes, it can be pretty much placed everywhere, meaning that it can start a sentence, it can be in the middle of the sentence or even finish a sentence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here are some examples to illustrate the powers of &ldquo;yesterday.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">I went for a walk yesterday.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>In the above sentence, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; lets us know when I went for a walk.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is the last word in this sentence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Someone called you yesterday after you had just left.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>In this example, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is in the middle of the sentence.<\/p>\n<p><i><div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Yesterday, my girlfriend went for a swim. <\/div><\/div>\n<\/i><\/p>\n<p>In this case, &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; is used as an introductory word and is, therefore, placed at the beginning of the sentence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Does &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; the adverb take a comma?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Well, it depends. If it is used at the beginning of the sentence as an introductory word, then a comma is necessary. If yesterday is used in the middle of the sentence, then a comma needs to be omitted after &ldquo;yesterday.&rdquo; If &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo; comes at the end of the sentence, it should not be followed by a comma either.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>We learned the multiplication table at school yesterday.<\/strong> (yesterday = at the end of the sentence)<\/p>\n<p><strong>We saw him yesterday at the gym.<\/strong> (yesterday = in the middle of the sentence)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yesterday, I went to the park.<\/strong> (yesterday = at the beginning of the sentence)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yesterday, we celebrated my mother&rsquo;s birthday.<\/strong> (yesterday = at the beginning of the sentence)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-in-fact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In fact<\/a><\/strong>, any introductory word that comes at the beginning of a sentence should be followed by a comma. Other introductory words you might be familiar with include &ldquo;furthermore&rdquo; and &ldquo;suddenly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Also, other <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">temporal expressions<\/a><\/strong> such as &ldquo;next week,&rdquo; &ldquo;next year&rdquo; and &ldquo;in a couple of days&rdquo;, all need a comma when they start off a sentence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What about the punctuation of the temporal expression &ldquo;yesterday&rdquo;? Do I need a comma after it or not? Well, not so fast, please! The answer to this question is probably more difficult than you would expect.&nbsp; That said, the short answer to the question is simply: Sometimes, it is followed by a comma, and sometimes, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1119,1116],"tags":[80,414,103,415],"class_list":["post-11249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-comma-rules","category-grammar","tag-comma","tag-comma-after-yesterday","tag-comma-usage","tag-punctuation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11249"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40186,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11249\/revisions\/40186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}