1
RULE 44
If conjunctions separate all the items of the
series from each other, do not use any commas.
EXAMPLES
a. Your client has lied and deceived and
cheated.
b. He is loving and caring and forgiving.
c. You have not proved motive or
opportunity or intent.
d. I did not understand what she meant
when she said, “He’s neither fish nor fowl
nor lean red meat.”
e. If I gave him the money or if I wrote a
check or if I even owed him money is a
mystery to me.
f. I did not know that he had no family or
that he had no home or that he had no job.
2
3
RULE 45
If the series occurs within the name of a firm or
company, the commas may or may not be used to
separate the individual names. Firms usually omit the
comma before and (or the ampersand). The court
reporter should check company preferences if possible.
EXAMPLES
a. We wrote to our financial consultant at
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Inc.
b. I was told to come to the offices of
Lerner, Warren, Babich & Finch.
c. We were outside the offices of Dewey,
Cheetam and Howe.
4
RULE 46
Use a comma to separate a series of
adjectives when the adjectives are of equal
rank in relation to the noun they describe.
EXAMPLES
a. They traveled a rough, rocky road before
they could settle this matter.
b. He was a troubled, vicious youth.
The black Sony monitor is available.
The new court reporting school is in the
Northeast.
NOTE
If and can be placed between the two adjectives without changing
the meaning and if reversing the order of the adjectives does not
affect the naturalness of the sentence, use the comma. If this test
does not work, do not use the comma.
EXAMPLES
c. A small, sickly man appeared at the door.
d. A small gold key was on the chain.
5
RULE 47
If adjectives follow the noun they describe,
use a pair of commas around the adjectives
to separate them from the rest of the
sentence. If the adjectives follow the noun
but are at the end of the sentence, use a
comma to separate the adjectives from the
noun.
EXAMPLES
a. The handwriting, faint and illegible, could
not be identified.
b. It was my old desk, scarred and battered.
c. I worked for dealerships, plural,
6
RULE 48
Use a comma to separate from the rest of the sentence
the name or title of a person being spoken to if the noun
of address is at the beginning of the sentence or at the
end of the sentence. Use a pair of commas around the
noun of address if it comes in the middle of the sentence.
EXAMPLES
a. Mrs. Butterfield, did you keep the money?
b. Do you have an opinion about this,
Doctor?
c. Tell us, Ms. Dean, if this chart is accurate.
d. You, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
have a very important task ahead of you.
e. Please, sir, wait until I finish.
Remember that the speaker's inflection can alter the
punctuation of any group of words; so for the sake of
accuracy, it is always a good idea to put in as much
punctuation as you can as you write.
EXAMPLES
f. Who is next, Rhonda? (a question to
Rhonda)
g. Who is next? Rhonda? (a question about
Rhonda)
7
RULE 49
Use a comma or a pair of commas to
separate a direct quotation from the rest
of the sentence.
EXAMPLES
a. The doctor said, "You have to help
yourself first."
b. "I can't," I said.
c. "You won't get very far," she said, "until
you try."
d. The question was, "How many times have
you tried?"
The comma is always placed inside a final
quotation mark.
.
8
NOTE:
If words are used to replace punctuation or
to include pronunciation in a sentence, place
commas around those words.
EXAMPLES
e. Claire Azmud called me and mumbled
into the phone that the faucets were, quote,
dripping, unquote.
f. It was final and I told her so. My words
were, "We're through, period." (OR:
through. Period.")
g. You just said the "doors," plural, and the
"window," singular, so I'm confused. Was
there another door?
h. I'm a crane operator, slash, side-loader.
9
RULE 50
In writing dates, use a comma to separate
every item after the day. In writing
addresses, use a comma to separate every
item after the street name.
EXAMPLES
a. I saw the doctor on June 17, 1993, and on
January 5, 1994.
b. I used the 877 Inman Avenue, Edison,
New Jersey, address at that time.
NOTE
If the date is expressed in military style, no
commas are used.
EXAMPLES
c. I saw the doctor on 12 September 1998.
d. I saw the doctor on 12 September.
If the day of the month is omitted, the court
reporter may omit the commas or use two
commas.
10
EXAMPLES
e) I saw the doctor in June 1996 and January
1997.
f) I saw the doctor in June, 1996, and
January, 1997.
If the ZIP Code is used, do not use a comma
between the state and ZIP Code.
Do place a comma after the ZIP Code.
EXAMPLES
g.) I used the 877 Inman Avenue, Edison,
New Jersey 08820, address.
h) That's Colonia, New Jersey 07067, for my
wife's business address.
11
RULE 51
Use a pair of commas to set off the titles,
academic degrees, etc., that follow personal
names or company names.
EXAMPLES
a) Charles Arthur, CEO, president of Pratt,
Ltd., sold the company in 1996.
b) Guerin, Inc., was awarded the contract.
c) Jaunelle K. Pratt, Esquire, acted as our
attorney for that transaction.
d) We hired Joel J. Pratt, Ph.D., as a
consultant.
12
NOTE
When Jr. or Sr. or a numerical designation follows a name, the
commas may be omitted. An individual's preference to use or not
use commas around the designation may be taken into account if
you know it. The same may be true for some companies that use
Inc. or Ltd.
EXAMPLES
e. John Smith, 3d, testified. (spoken as the third)
f. John Smith III testified.
g. John Smith Jr. testified.
h. Time Inc. is being sued.
i. Carter, Inc., is being sued.
If the name or title is in the possessive form and commas are
preferred with the name or title, use only the first comma between
the name and the title.
EXAMPLES
j. John Smith, Jr.'s right to the inheritance is in dispute.
k. Carter, Inc.'s tax records have been located.
If the word senior or junior is used to distinguish a father from a
son and appears alone or without the surname, using either the
word or the abbreviation is acceptable, depending on the context.
EXAMPLES
Q.
Did you speak with Figaro Newton?
A.
Senior or junior?
Q.
Fig Newton, Jr.
Q. So you spoke with Fig, Jr.?
A. Yes.
Q. Were any changes noted on Ron, Sr.'s will?
A.
Changes were noted for Ron, Sr. and Jr.
OR
A Changes were noted for Ron, senior and junior.
13
RULE 52
Use commas around etc. when it appears within a sentence at the
end of a series.
EXAMPLES
a. I was responsible for supplies, mail orders, packaging, et cetera,
for the two offices.
b. The letters, memos, logs, et cetera, were all typed by me.
NOTE
Court reporters need not spell out et cetera unless it is the only
word on the line.
In Philadelphia, court reporters typically spell out et cetera. JDC
EXAMPLE
Q.
What did she give you?
A.
She gave me personal things like a blouse, sweater, handbag,
shoes, earrings -Q.
I see.
A.
-- et cetera.
14
RULE 53
Use commas to separate numbered
references of sections, pages, verses, and
acts.
EXAMPLES
a. I will read from Article 1, Section 2A,
page 17, on the matter of surrogates.
b. Refer to page 10, line 6, for the witness's
explanation.
RULE 54
Use a comma to introduce the first
spelled-out enumeration after the verb of
the sentence. Use a comma after all other
spelled-out enumerations in that same
sentence.
EXAMPLES
a. I sought, first, security; second, power.
b. She wanted, first, to find him; second, to
torment him; third, to destroy him.
15
RULE 55
Use a comma to set off please when it is the
last word of the sentence but not the last
word of a dependent clause or phrase. The
comma will be placed before the clause or
phrase. If please occurs in the middle of a
sentence as an interrupting word, set it off
with commas.
EXAMPLES
a. May we have a recess at this time, please?
b. May we have a recess at this time, if you
please?
c. Show us, please, on the map where the
boy was standing.
d. Please show us on the map where the boy
was standing.
Writers do not agree on the use of the comma before too and also when they are the last
words of the sentence, though the trend seems to be to omit the comma.
16
RULE 56
In a number expressed with figures, the
comma separates hundreds, thousands,
millions, and billions.
EXAMPLES
a. The budget reflects an increase to $30,000
for the starting salary.
b. We require 2,550,000 units for our
January promotion.
NOTE
Do not use commas in the following
numbers when they are expressed in four or
more digits: house, page, policy, social
security, street, telephone, year, ZIP Code.
Spaces, hyphens, and parentheses are
sometimes used within these longer
numbers.
17
EXAMPLES
c. He gave 6227 East First Avenue as his address.
d. We found the formula on page 1266.
e. My old ZIP was 07065.
f. My social security number is 164-82-8105.
g. My phone number is (609) 221-6262.
Patent numbers and serial numbers from the United
States Patent Office do have commas within them.
EXAMPLES
h. That was Patent No. 5,660,221.
i. That is from the Patent Office application for Serial
No. 630,927.
CAUTION
If a number is verbalized in even hundreds, that
figure may be written as the court reporter hears it,
that is, without a comma.
EXAMPLES
j. He ordered 7200 directories.
k. Over 3800 new entries have been added.
18
RULE 57
A comma may be used to set off
introductory words to a sentence. These
words are most frequently adverbs (words
that tell how, why, when, where, how
much). They often act as transitions from
one sentence to another or as the speaker's
independent view of the idea expressed in
the sentence.
EXAMPLES
a. Actually, he never gave her the coat back.
b. Accordingly, we asked for his resignation.
c. Truthfully, did you plan to rehire him?
d. Eventually, we would have.
e. Moreover, we would have promoted him.
f. Nowadays, there would be a fund reserved
for that purpose.
19
One error for no comma between "yes" or "no" and the next word.
A. Yes, sir. (if no comma, one error)
A. No, ma'am. (if no comma, one error)
A. No, Miss Smith, I did not. (if no commas on either side, two errors)
One error for each comma missing around a noun of direct address.
Q. Mrs. Jones, please tell us your address. (if no comma, one error)
A. Yes, sir. (if no comma, one error)
A. Yes, Your Honor, I will. (if no commas, two errors)
One error each for run-on sentences and comma splices.
I will not tell you what I know about this incident and I will not tell her what I know.
(run-on: one error for missing comma or period before "and.")
I will not tell you, I will not tell her.
(comma splice: one error for misused comma; should be a period or at least a
semicolon.)
One error for missing comma after an introductory adverbial clause.
When I went to the store, I saw the shooting.
(if a comma does not separate the dependent clause from the independent clause, one
error.)
One error for missing or wrong punctuation before a statement followed by a question to
confirm that statement--usually occurs in the question.
*** The correct punctuation is a semicolon between the sentences.***
Q. You said you were there at 8:00; isn't that right?
Q. You were at the store; is that right?
Q. The car hit your bumper; isn't that true?
; is that true?
; isn't that correct?
; is that correct?
You have a choice {, or ; correct?
before one word
{, or ; right?
*One point will be deducted for not paragraphing at least once on each page (15
spaces first line).
*One point will be deducted each time the student does not have her/his name and
page number on each page.