Commas in
Dates and
Geographic
Units
Mini- Lesson #35
From the Writing Lab’s
101 Grammar Mini-Lessons Series
Use a comma to separate each
item in a date from the rest of
the sentence.
On December 8, 1941,
the U.S. and Britain
declared war on Japan.
Use a comma to separate each
item in a geographic unit from
the rest of the sentence.
The German blitz against
London, England, resulted in
widespread destruction.
If the date is used as an
adjective, do not place a comma
after the year.
The December 7, 1941
bombing of Pearl
Harbor is an event that
will live in infamy.
Do not place a comma after the
parts of a date when only two
units (the month and day or the
month and year) are used.
June 6, 1944, is the day on which allied
forces invaded France during World
War II.
June 6 is the day on which allied forces
invaded France during World War II.
If only the month and year
are used, the comma is often
omitted.
The Battle of
Iwo Jima
took place in
February 1945.