Q. When I encounter a restrictive clause with multiple elements, do I put a comma at the end of the last element? For example:
The woman who was blonde, green-eyed, and slim said hello to me. Or is it: The woman who was blonde, green-eyed, and slim,
said hello to me.
A. Commas are like parentheses when they indicate nonrestriction, so you need two of them, but in a restrictive clause you don’t
need them at all: The woman who was blonde, green-eyed, and slim said hello. In a nonrestrictive clause, you need a pair,
whether it’s parentheses or commas: The woman (who was blonde, green-eyed, and slim) said hello. Or,
The woman, who was blonde, green-eyed, and slim, said hello.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is it correct or incorrect to put a comma before the “and” in the following sentence: “The Department of Justice has taken on the role of coordinating agencies’ activities, and has undertaken several new initiatives related to dealing with criminals.” I think it’s correct because the second clause—although not an independent clause, strictly speaking—is so long (and the subject is implied). The comma seems to help the reader get through the sentence. Many thanks.
A. The comma isn’t necessary, but if you want to indicate a pause, add it anyway. Please see CMOS 6.16: “The comma, aside from its technical uses in scientific, bibliographical, and other contexts, indicates the smallest break in sentence structure. It usually denotes a slight pause. In formal prose, however, logical considerations come first. Effective use of the comma involves good judgment, with the goal being ease of reading.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is the following the correct way to punctuate the date?
Period between June 23, 2003 and March 19, 2004
A. It’s conventional to put a comma after the year. The commas are like parentheses here, so it doesn’t
make sense to have only one.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What is the proper comma usage in describing a series of nouns with a single adjective? For example, “This
spring’s collection emphasizes sexy lingerie, blouses, skirts, and mukluks.” I
am devoted to the serial comma, but should a comma be included after the third item if I want the adjective to apply to all
four items? I write for an online retailer and often find myself stumped by this little conundrum.
A. If the adjective applies to all four nouns, a serial comma is harmless. The problem arises if the adjective is meant to apply
only to some of the nouns. In that case, the comma is the least of your worries. To avoid ambiguity, you should put only the
modified nouns after the adjective: “This spring’s collection emphasizes mukluks
and sexy blouses, skirts, and lingerie.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I always use commas in serial lists. However, if I am referring to an entity that does not use the comma in its name, should
I add it for consistency? Should the Columbia University School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation become the School
of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation? Similarly, the Chicago Manual recommends no comma before “Inc.” If I am referring to an old firm that used
the comma, should I delete it? Should Louis Sherry, Inc. become Louis Sherry Inc.?
A. There’s no harm in styling company names exactly as they do. But most of the time editors have no easy
way—and certainly not the time—to check the punctuation in every company name
or title that pops up in the text. Even at a company’s website, you will often find it punctuated one
way in a letterhead or logo and another way in the text of the web page. That’s why we have arbitrary
styling rules—we treat everyone the same way and we don’t have to pause and think
about it each time.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I seem to be alone in my habit of including a comma in email greetings that begin with a salutation (e.g., “Hi, Mom!”). Most people, perhaps inspired by the more formal “Dear Mom,” seem to think it should be without comma. What do you think?
A. You are right: in formal writing, direct address takes a comma before the person’s name. One could argue, however, that email isn’t formal, and that there’s little harm in streamlining for the sake of efficiency—and I think I can speak for moms everywhere in saying that we’ll take whatever we get in this regard.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Are phrases regarding the location of something deemed restrictive or not? Must one know whether only one exists in order
to insert commas? I know it is always “the White House, in Washington, D.C.” But
must it also then be “Bob’s Hardware in Dallas” when I do
not know if there are other places that go by the same name? If I encountered “Bob’s
upstairs neighbor Bill,” and didn’t know if he lived below one person or on the
second floor of a ten-story building, I would have to make it restrictive, yes? So wouldn’t the same
rule apply here? I work for a weekly magazine without a research department and this question has been preying on my frazzled
mind for some time—please help!
A. I must admit that this problem has never crossed my mind—probably because copy editors rarely have
the time and resources to check every fact they read and must therefore allow a certain amount of ambiguity in order to get
through the day. When the facts are unknown, I would treat the phrase as though it were restrictive, with the reasoning that
it’s cleaner and easier to omit the commas.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I totally agree with Chicago’s use of the serial comma. However, I am creating a style guide for a
company that does not use the serial comma. For the sake of consistency, I am considering stating in the guide that the serial
comma is not to be used at all (yikes!). My question is: Is it better to be consistent (and not use the serial comma at all)
OR to add in the serial comma ONLY when it is necessary to prevent ambiguity? I wish that I could just DEMAND the use of the
serial comma at all times, but alas, I am just a lowly intern. Thanks a lot for your help!
A. Well, if you don’t allow it at all, you will at times be stuck with situations like the following hypothetical
dedication page that our managing editor likes to cite: “With gratitude to my parents, Mother Teresa
and the pope.” (Maybe that example will help you change your company’s policy.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What is a “restrictive” appositive? I have read chapters 5 and 6, but I do not understand the difference between the two types of examples, distinguishing the use of commas by this term. Please advise . . . my client wants to know the “why” behind my editorial source.
A. “Restrictive” appositives cannot be removed from a sentence without obscuring the identity of the word or phrase that the appositive is intended to identify. Take the following two sentences:
My cat Philby is fat. [I have two cats.]
My cat, Philby, is fat. [I have one cat.]
Note the similarities; if you study the two sentences closely, you will see that they are in fact identical—except for the commas. The problem is that if you take “Philby” away from the first sentence—whereas you know I have two cats—you’d have no way of knowing, assuming no additional context, which of my two cats I was talking about. If you take “Philby” away from the second sentence—knowing that I have just one cat—you’d still know it’s Philby that has the weight problem. The commas serve to set off what is essentially ancillary—or nonrestrictive—information.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Please help clarify a debate over what I see as a groundless but persistent carryover from high-school English classes: the
comma-before-too “rule.” The rule goes something like this: When “too”
is used in the sense of “also,” use a comma before and after “too”
in the middle of a sentence and a comma before “too” at the end of a sentence.
I am editing a work of fiction in which the author has rigidly applied the rule. I have just as rigidly deleted the commas.
My managing editor believes that a comma is needed when “too” refers to an item
in a list and has the sense of “in addition” (e.g., “I like
apples and bananas, too.”), but she would omit the comma when “too”
refers to the subject of the sentence (e.g., “Oh, you like apples and bananas? I like apples and bananas
too.”). My managing editor’s rule helps make a useful distinction, but I am still
wondering whether the comma is ever grammatically justified.
A. A comma can do some work in making the meaning of a sentence clear, but to claim two different meanings for I like apples and bananas too with and without a comma before too puts too much pressure on the comma. Out of context, neither version would be perfectly clear. To make the different meanings more apparent, short of additional context, you’d have to be more explicit:
I, too, like apples and bananas.
I like not only apples but bananas too.
Use commas with too only when you want to emphasize an abrupt change of thought:
He didn’t know at first what hit him, but then, too, he hadn’t ever walked in a field strewn with garden rakes.
In most other cases, commas with this short adverb are unnecessary (an exception being sentences that begin with too—in the sense of also—a construction some writers would avoid as being too awkward).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]