The vocative case refers to nouns because only nouns can be the addressee. Any time you address someone, be it in the written or spoken word, a vocative comma appears to signal the vocative case. A Comma with "Hi" or "Hello" When the salutation in your letter or email starts with "Hello" or "Hi," then you should put a comma before the name of the person you're addressing. What is the Vocative Case? What is the Vocative Case? No. If you are wondering why I have shown the Dear Claudio greeting (salutation) with both a colon and a comma, the colon (:) is used in business letters.

Yes, Melissa, you do set the person's name off with commas if you are addressing them directly. These worksheets provide practice in properly locating commas for direct address. (No comma needed.) If you learned in school that you should always put a comma before someone’s name, I’m very sorry to inform you that your teacher was mistaken. Thanks for coming to the party, Gordon. It’s no different than “Do you use a turn signal?” Here are couple rules for when you use a comma before and after a name. A salutation usually has two components: a greeting or an adjective, and the name or title of the person you’re addressing. You don't need the commas if you are talking ABOUT Gary instead of talking TO him. When you address someone like this, it is usual in writing to set off the name with a comma, or a pair of commas if appropriate. this always confuses me. Always write the word “doctor” in its abbreviated form when it goes before the person’s name. When you address someone like this, it is usual in writing to set off the name with a comma, or a pair of commas if appropriate. or thanks man. or thanks man. According to the Chicago Manual of Style’s FAQ on commas, a comma should be used before a name, title or term of endearment when that person is directly addressed: [I]n formal writing, direct address takes a comma before the person’s name.One could argue, however, that e-mails aren’t formal, and that there’s little harm in streamlining for the sake of efficiency When a speaker is addressing a particular individual, the vocative case is used.

While a comma after the title may be correct on rare occasions (which don’t concern us here), a comma only before a name or title is wrong.

These worksheets provide practice in properly locating commas for direct address. When addressing someone directly by name, a comma is placed i) after the name if the name is at the beginning of a sentence, ii) before the name if the name is at the end of a sentence, and iii) before and after the name if the name is in the middle of the sentence. When addressing someone directly by name, a comma is placed i) after the name if the name is at the beginning of a sentence, ii) before the name if the name is at the end of a sentence, and iii) before and after the name if the name is in the middle of the sentence. Place the title of “Dr.” before the name of a person who is a doctor of medicine or psychology, doctor of dentistry, or doctor of veterinary medicine. Use a comma when directly addressing someone or something in a sentence. Hi, I had a debate with my brother on whether or not I should use a comma when addressing a person by name as in the example below.

You use a comma before and after a name when the rules require it, and you don’t when they don’t. You don't need the commas if you are talking ABOUT Gary instead of talking TO him.

“He loved you, Emma.” “Emma, he loved you.” “He loved you, honey.” “He loved you, Emma, more than he loved Sally.” Multiple lines of dialogue Addressing a Doctor in Writing. Rebecca Aydin/Business Insider Another clever meme shows the problem with incorrect placement of this comma. However, a comma should separate a direct greeting and a person’s name. An example of when to use a comma before a name is, my boyfriend, Carl, went to Yale. The Chicago Manual of Style gives the same advice on both fronts. This is a matter not of grammar, but of punctuation. Do you use a comma before a name or addressing someone? The comma rule depicted here is simple: use a comma with the name of a person you are directly addressing. Commas for Direct Address (i.e., the Vocative Case) When addressing someone directly, writers should separate the name being used (e.g., "John," "Mary," "my darling," "you little rascal," "my son") from rest of the sentence using a comma or commas. "Thanks, Gary, for helping me" is correct. The vocative case is used to directly address someone. Vocative comma definition: The vocative comma is used to offset the name of addressed individuals.

How’s that for clear? Thanks!