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Chapter 16 ➤ You’ve Got Style

Commas

Commas should separate elements of a date. However, no comma is needed when just the
month and year are stated. The following examples demonstrate this rule:

➤ I am available starting on Wednesday, June 23, 1999.
➤ During June 1999, I oversaw the opening of four new stores.
Insert a comma between a person’s name and an abbreviation that follows his name, except
when the abbreviation is Jr. or Sr.:
Maria Twang, M.D.

George Grossman Sr.

Place a comma after the salutation in an informal letter. If the letter is of a more formal
nature, a semicolon or colon may be used instead of a comma in the salutation:

Dear Mr. Corazon,
Dear Mr. Corazon;
Dear Mr. Corazon:

Bonus Check
To be sure you haven’t used too many commas in your sentences (a common writing
mistake), do this simple trick: Remove all the commas from a sentence. Then replace
a comma only if you need it to have correct grammar or to clarify the meaning of the
sentence.

Numbers
Don’t use an apostrophe to indicate the plural form of a number. The following example
shows the correct method:
The job market had some lows in the 1990s.

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