Q. In the technical writing I do it is common to reduce the full name of a company, after first mention, to a shorter version, usually dropping the Inc. or LLC or what have you. For example: “Johnson Associates, Inc. (Johnson), is the proponent of this project.” Is it correct to have a comma after the parenthesis?
A. Yes, as long as there is also a comma before Inc. Chicago also allows for dropping both commas (CMOS 6.44): Johnson Associates Inc. (Johnson) is the proponent of this project.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is there a rule governing the use of commas in a compound imperative sentence where the subject is implied? For example: “[You] Take the documents to the incinerator and follow safety guidelines during disposal” or “[You] Take the documents to the incinerator, and (you) follow safety guidelines during disposal.” Technically, these are both independent clauses. Is there any official rule that states whether the implied you exists only at the beginning of the first clause? Is this one of those situations that is never covered because it doesn’t matter?
A. No official rule can tell us what a writer was thinking, but when we read “Do X and do Y,” a comma before and implies two independent clauses: “[You] do X, and [you] do Y.” The lack of a comma implies a compound verb: “[You] do X and do Y.” CMOS covers this type of comma at paragraphs 6.22–23, but as you guessed, much of the time it doesn’t matter.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Chicago, APA, and other style guides for US English require a comma before the conjunction in a series of three or more items, per Strunk and White. However, in recent years I have increasingly seen US publications not follow this rule. (I find myself more and more often rechecking to see if these periodicals and books are British!) Has your staff also noticed this tendency? If so, do you have a professional opinion on the subject?
A. First, let’s note that Strunk & White recommend the serial comma (1918) per Chicago (1906), not the other way around; we were using it when White was still learning to read! And since it is commonly called the Oxford comma, it seems the British have been onto it for a while as well.
Second, the serial comma is optional; some mainstream style guides (such as the Associated Press) don’t use it. If you google “serial comma” or “Oxford comma,” you’ll see a lot of heavy weather from opinionated commenters, but there are times when using the comma (or omitting it) results in ambiguity, which is why it’s best to stay flexible.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is it proper to put a comma after the year in a date? Example: On April 15, 2014, I filed my taxes on time.
Q. An editor just changed all of my nervous character’s “Oh, dear” comments to “Oh dear” without the comma. Which is correct?
A. CMOS 6.35 has this to say: “A comma usually follows an exclamatory oh or ah unless it is followed by an exclamation mark (or dash) or forms part of a phrase (e.g., “oh boy,” “ah yes”).” Since your character’s “Oh dears” fall into the exception category (an exclamation or part of a phrase), your editor was right to delete the commas.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Do you recommend using a comma to separate items in a “from X to Y to Z” format? In more complex sentences, they may aid in comprehension, e.g., “He always bought the latest technology, from a cell phone that could tell his coffeemaker to start percolating at 7am[,] to a television that could remember all his preferences[,] to a tablet computer that synced all his bookmarks with his phone and laptop.” I’m working with an author who prefers to use commas in such cases.
A. If the items are short, you probably don’t need commas—unless leaving them out would result in hilarity: “He always bought the latest technology from a computer that synced his bookmarks to a coffeemaker that delivered mochas to a television that remembered his preferences.”
Remember that overuse of the device can annoy readers. Know too that persnickety readers dislike “false ranges,” although they are an accepted figure of speech. A “true range” is something like “from A to Z”; a false range is “from cells phones to coffeemakers,” where there are no logical endpoints to form a range. In your sentence, the range could easily be edited into a simple list.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is it necessary to have commas before and after an appositive when referring to coaches? Example: We went to see Bengals coach Paul Brown to interview one of his players.
A. Coaches receive the same treatment as everyone else. Use commas with an appositive if the expression is not restrictive—that is, if it would make sense set off by parentheses:
We went to see Bengals coach Paul Brown.
We went to see the Bengals coach (Paul Brown).
We went to see the Bengals coach, Paul Brown.
See CMOS 5.23 and 6.27–29 for more on restriction and commas.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What punctuation is required for “including but not limited to”? I see many different opinions from many different sources.
A. No punctuation is required, but commas after including and to would work just fine; they may be helpful if the phrase introduces a long or complex list. Dashes would work as well.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In my role as an editor, I frequently face preposition-conjunction combinations such as this: “The analysis assesses the availability of and access to community services.” Does this need commas?
A. Commas around the second phrase (“and access to”) will indicate that it is somewhat parenthetical, an afterthought, so use them only if that’s the writer’s intention.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Hello there. Is it okay to use a comma after Anderson? “This is disgusting,” said Anderson, “The man I hired to mow the lawn has missed a few spots.” According to the models you provide, you seem to prefer a period rather than a comma, but is the comma definitely wrong?
A. Yes, the comma is definitely wrong. The test is to write the sentence without “said Anderson” and see whether a comma works: “This is disgusting, The man I hired to mow the lawn has missed a few spots.” You can see that you need a period.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]