Punctuation | Page 5

which I have read, are returned with gratitude. He was pleased, I
suppose, with his work.
If the connection of such expressions is so close as to form one
connected idea the comma is not used.
The press nearest the south window is out of order.
If the connection of such expressions is remote, parentheses are used.
The Committee (appointed under vote of April 10, 1909) organized and

proceeded with business.
8. To separate the co-ordinate clauses of compound sentences if such
clauses are simple in construction and closely related.
He was kind, not indulgent, to his men; firm, but just, in discipline;
courteous, but not familiar, to all.
9. To separate quotations, or similar brief expressions from the
preceding part of the sentence.
Cæsar reported to the Senate, "I came, I saw, I conquered." The
question is, What shall we do next?
10. To indicate the omission of the verb in compound sentences having
a common verb in several clauses.
One man glories in his strength, another in his wealth, another in his
learning.
11. To separate phrases containing the case absolute from the rest of the
sentence.
The form having been locked up, a proof was taken.
12. Between words or phrases in apposition to each other.
I refer to DeVinne, the great authority on Printing.
The comma is omitted when such an apposition is used as a single
phrase or a compound name.
The poet Longfellow was born in Portland. The word patriotic is now
in extensive use.
13. After phrases and clauses which are placed at the beginning of a
sentence by inversion.
Worn out by hard wear, the type at last became unfit for use. Ever since,

he has been fond of celery.
The comma is omitted if the phrase thus used is very short.
Of success there could be no doubt.
14. Introductory phrases beginning with if, when, wherever, whenever,
and the like should generally be separated from the rest of the sentence
by a comma, even when the statement may appear to be direct.
When a plain query has not been answered, it is best to follow copy. If
the copy is hard to read, the compositor will set but few pages.
15. To separate introductory words and phrases and independent
adverbs from the rest of the sentence.
Now, what are you going to do there?
I think, also, Franklin owed much of his success to his strong common
sense.
This idea, however, had already been grasped by others.
Of course the comma is not used when these adverbs are used in the
ordinary way.
They also serve who only stand and wait. This must be done, however
contrary to our inclinations.
16. To separate words or phrases of direct address from the context.
I submit, gentlemen, to your judgment. From today, my son, your
future is in your own hands.
17. Between the name of a person and his title or degree.
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States. Charles W. Eliot,
LL.D.

18. Before the word of connecting a proper name with residence or
position.
Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts. Elihu B. Root, Senator from New
York.
19. After the salutatory phrase at the beginning of a letter, when
informal.
Dear John,
When the salutation is formal a colon should be used.
My dear Mr. Smith:
20. To separate the closing salutation of a formal letter from the rest of
the sentence of which it forms a part.
Soliciting your continued patronage, I am, Very sincerely yours, John
W. Smith.
21. To separate two numbers.
January 31, 1915. By the end of 1914, 7062 had been built.
22. To indicate an ellipsis.
Subscription for the course, one dollar.
Exceptions to this rule are made in very brief sentences, especially in
advertisements: Tickets 25 cents. Price one dollar.
The foregoing rules for the use of the comma have been compiled from
those given by a considerable number of authorities. Further
examination of authorities would probably have added to the number
and to the complexity of these rules. No two sets of rules which have
come under the writer's observation are alike. Positive disagreements in
modern treatises on the subject are few. The whole matter, however,
turns so much on the use made of certain general principles and the

field is so vast that different writers vary greatly in their statements and
even in their ideas of what ought to be stated. It is very difficult to
strike the right mean between a set of rules too fragmentary and too
incomplete for any real guidance and a set of rules too long to be
remembered and used.
After all possible has been done to indicate the best usage it remains
true that the writer or the printer must, in the last resort, depend very
largely on himself for