Should there be a comma before a person's name midsentence when you're addressing them? [duplicate]












1















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  • Is vocative comma rule vanishing?

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Take the following sentence I found myself typing in an email today:




Thanks for the update, Mark, good to hear.




That first comma had me hesitating for an embarrassing length of time. Consider the alternative:




Thanks for the update Mark, good to hear.




Honestly both look strange to me now that I'm overthinking it. Is there a rule I can defer to so I can make this easy and stop thinking about it?










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marked as duplicate by tchrist Jan 3 at 23:46


This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.




















    1















    This question already has an answer here:




    • Is vocative comma rule vanishing?

      1 answer




    Take the following sentence I found myself typing in an email today:




    Thanks for the update, Mark, good to hear.




    That first comma had me hesitating for an embarrassing length of time. Consider the alternative:




    Thanks for the update Mark, good to hear.




    Honestly both look strange to me now that I'm overthinking it. Is there a rule I can defer to so I can make this easy and stop thinking about it?










    share|improve this question













    marked as duplicate by tchrist Jan 3 at 23:46


    This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.


















      1












      1








      1








      This question already has an answer here:




      • Is vocative comma rule vanishing?

        1 answer




      Take the following sentence I found myself typing in an email today:




      Thanks for the update, Mark, good to hear.




      That first comma had me hesitating for an embarrassing length of time. Consider the alternative:




      Thanks for the update Mark, good to hear.




      Honestly both look strange to me now that I'm overthinking it. Is there a rule I can defer to so I can make this easy and stop thinking about it?










      share|improve this question














      This question already has an answer here:




      • Is vocative comma rule vanishing?

        1 answer




      Take the following sentence I found myself typing in an email today:




      Thanks for the update, Mark, good to hear.




      That first comma had me hesitating for an embarrassing length of time. Consider the alternative:




      Thanks for the update Mark, good to hear.




      Honestly both look strange to me now that I'm overthinking it. Is there a rule I can defer to so I can make this easy and stop thinking about it?





      This question already has an answer here:




      • Is vocative comma rule vanishing?

        1 answer








      punctuation






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      asked Jan 3 at 21:10









      temporary_user_name

      8081820




      8081820




      marked as duplicate by tchrist Jan 3 at 23:46


      This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.






      marked as duplicate by tchrist Jan 3 at 23:46


      This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.
























          1 Answer
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          Yes, you'd want a comma before Mark. It's the vocative case.



          The comma after "Mark" makes a run-on sentence, however. Assuming the subject is understood, "good to hear" stands on its own. It would still be better to be explicit about the subject. So the whole thing would be better written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark. That's good to hear." Alternatively, it could be written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark; that's good to hear."






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          • Please don't answer duplicates.
            – tchrist
            Jan 3 at 23:46


















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes








          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          3














          Yes, you'd want a comma before Mark. It's the vocative case.



          The comma after "Mark" makes a run-on sentence, however. Assuming the subject is understood, "good to hear" stands on its own. It would still be better to be explicit about the subject. So the whole thing would be better written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark. That's good to hear." Alternatively, it could be written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark; that's good to hear."






          share|improve this answer





















          • Please don't answer duplicates.
            – tchrist
            Jan 3 at 23:46
















          3














          Yes, you'd want a comma before Mark. It's the vocative case.



          The comma after "Mark" makes a run-on sentence, however. Assuming the subject is understood, "good to hear" stands on its own. It would still be better to be explicit about the subject. So the whole thing would be better written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark. That's good to hear." Alternatively, it could be written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark; that's good to hear."






          share|improve this answer





















          • Please don't answer duplicates.
            – tchrist
            Jan 3 at 23:46














          3












          3








          3






          Yes, you'd want a comma before Mark. It's the vocative case.



          The comma after "Mark" makes a run-on sentence, however. Assuming the subject is understood, "good to hear" stands on its own. It would still be better to be explicit about the subject. So the whole thing would be better written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark. That's good to hear." Alternatively, it could be written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark; that's good to hear."






          share|improve this answer












          Yes, you'd want a comma before Mark. It's the vocative case.



          The comma after "Mark" makes a run-on sentence, however. Assuming the subject is understood, "good to hear" stands on its own. It would still be better to be explicit about the subject. So the whole thing would be better written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark. That's good to hear." Alternatively, it could be written as, "Thanks for the update, Mark; that's good to hear."







          share|improve this answer












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          share|improve this answer










          answered Jan 3 at 23:05









          trw

          28828




          28828












          • Please don't answer duplicates.
            – tchrist
            Jan 3 at 23:46


















          • Please don't answer duplicates.
            – tchrist
            Jan 3 at 23:46
















          Please don't answer duplicates.
          – tchrist
          Jan 3 at 23:46




          Please don't answer duplicates.
          – tchrist
          Jan 3 at 23:46



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