21st Century Grammar Handbook by Barbara Ann Kipfer Page B

together without connecting words or
phrases
are said to be in apposition. Such words or phrases are set off by commas: “The lawyer, a district attorney, spoke briefly.” See also
appositive.
D ATES
    Commas divide parts of
dates
when dates are written in month, day, year style: “November 23, 1963.” When dates are written in other
styles,
the comma is usually omitted: “23 November 1963.”
N UMBERS
    American standard
usage
puts commas in
numbers
that are greater than 999: “1,000” or “$5,276,489.00.” European usage differs, preferring
periods
where Americans put commas and commas where Americans put periods. Neither system puts commas into
dates:
“1963,” but “1,963 years ago.” In some tabular and scientific or business materials, commas do not appear in larger numbers.
T ITLES
    Titles
that follow names are usually set off by commas: “Samantha Smith, Ph.D.,” “Eliot Ness, Jr.” Numerals following a
name
and titles before names do not need commas: “Dr. Jane Hart,” “King George III.”
C LARITY
    It is sometimes helpful to add a comma where it is not required by any
rule
in order to make a sentence clearer. But take care not to put commas in just in case—they will confuse more than they clarify. RIGHT: “Coming in, in droves, they shouted greetings.” Although no rule requires that the two “in’s” in the example be separated by a comma, some readers will find the comma helps clarify the meaning. The sentence would probably be adequate without the first comma; the second is necessary. It is better to rewrite such sentences altogether. WRONG: “The guests, and the host came inside.” “Jones gave it to one, and the other.” “Smith said, that it was so.” “‘Why not?’ Kim asked.” In all these examples there is no need for a comma, which if present is confusing. See also
clarity
and
revision.
    Common noun. Common
nouns
refer to objects or people in general rather than specific
names
by which individuals are known. A dog might have a name; the name is a
proper noun
(usually capitalized), while the word “dog” is the general, common term applied to the class of animals—a common noun. The distinction between proper and commonnouns depends on their
usage
at any moment: something can be named “Dog,” just as a word we most commonly think of as a name or proper noun (Baker) can function as a common noun (“The baker made bread.”). See also
capitalization.
    Compare to, with. The distinction between these constructions is fading in all but the most formal writing. In very precise writing, one compares something to something else in order to suggest a similarity between the things: “The clerk compares the customer to a dragon.” One compares something with something else to suggest that similarities between them might be found: “The clerk compared the customer with a dragon but found the customer was far less terrible than was thought.”
    Comparison. Expression of degrees of some quality is comparison. Grammatically, it involves the use of
auxiliary
words like
“more”
or “most” or the comparative or
superlative
forms of words (“faster, fastest”). Words that indicate qualities of things or actions are
adjectives
or
adverbs.
    Generally, words of one
syllable
form comparatives and superlatives by adding
“-er”
or
“-est,”
while longer words form comparatives and superlatives by adding the auxiliaries “more” and “most”: “longer, longest” “more pleasurable, most pleasurable.” Words of one syllable that end in “e” are made into comparatives by adding “-r” and “-st”: “simpler, simplest.”
    Some irregular comparatives follow different patterns:
“good, better, best.”
It is important to learn these patternsand not to add comparative elements to such words. WRONG: “more better.” Note also
bad,
badly,
ill (worse,
worst); well
(better, best); many, much, some
(more, most);
little
(less, least—quantity; little, littler,