Commas

[kateyule]

• President of the United States Barack Obama said today that....
• The President of the United States, Barack Obama, said today that...

These are both correct. One comma? Wrong.

I'm trying to find some examples of other wrong ones, but just when you need them most you can't find them, you know?

Comments

[bibliofile]

Yes! When marking up other people's words, I usually just say that you need either two commas or none. Single commas for these things (ellipses? I forget the right term) are always wrong.

(Hmm, when are single commas okay? Bridging two things that could be separate sentences, if followed by a conjunction.* Single commas are okay in a series of three items where an Oxford comma** is unnecessary. Looks like single commas are not inherently dangerous or wrong, then.)

*Wow, how do I remember all these terms? I'm much better at finding errors than explaining them, normally.

**I have Ideas about an art project about Oxford commas. I haven't managed to make it yet. It could happen!

[bibliofile]

The easiest and most amusing examples tend to focus on Oxford commas, not the thingy you're looking at.

What about sentences that mention categories of people? Like that character on that Bob Newhart show, who had a brother Darryl and another brother Darryl? Or examples where you mention a mom or dad plus their given name, potentially making it sound like you had many, many moms or dads? That trick worked a lot better in the 1930s, before stepparents became so popular.