Business English

Overview
● Comma usage in written correspondence requires special attention.
● If you learn and follow the rules in this presentation, you can master comma usage in no time!

Direct Address
● What is a direct address?
o Using a person’s name or the name of an object in a sentence to directly address the person or object.
o Example: Good morning, Ms. Brandon.

Direct Address
● Comma Rule o Enclose a direct address in a sentence with a comma(s).
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Dates, Addresses, and Geographical
Items
● Why do these items require special attention?
o Comma rules exist for these items.
o These rules are often overlooked in written correspondence.

Dates, Addresses, and Geographical
Items
● Comma Rule o When these items contain more than one element, the second and subsequent elements must be set off by commas.
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Introductory Phrases
● A group of related words that lacks a subject and a verb o o
Verbal phrases
 Introductory verbal phrases are always followed by a comma.
Prepositional phrases
 These phrases require closer examination.

Introductory Prepositional
Phrases
Comma Rule:
● One or more introductory prepositional phrases containing five or more words require a comma.
● Introductory prepositional phrases containing less than five words require no comma.
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Introductory Clauses
● A group of related words that contains a subject and a verb.
● Two types of clauses o Independent clauses: contain a subject and a verb and can stand alone o Dependent clauses: contain a subject and a verb and cannot stand alone

Introductory Clauses
Comma Rule:
● Introductory dependent clauses are always followed by a comma.
When I sleep, I always dream of commas.
Dependent Clause Independent Clause

Contrasting Statements
● Statements that contrast or oppose each other
My favorite food is shrimp, not steak.
o In this example, shrimp is in opposition with steak.

Contrasting Statements
Comma Rule
● Opposing or contrasting statements should be set off by commas.
Josie, not Paul, was invited to the movie preview.

Clarity
● Some sentences may be misread if proper punctuation is not used to add clarity.
● Receiver may not interpret your message the way you intended.

Clarity
Comma Rule
● Commas may be used to separate words, phrases, or clauses that may be misread if not separated

Clarity
● Examples: o No matter what you know, we still love you.
o No matter what, you know we still love you.
o Do the above examples have the same meaning?

Conclusion
Mastering comma rules takes practice, and practice makes perfect!
Practice, Practice, Practice!

References
Brookhouser, Keven. October 29, 2012. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/7Kbze5U7PsM
EnglishatCrossCounty. October 24, 2014. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/o9LVidbl2uA
English Plus. 2006. Retrieved from http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000074.htm
Guffey, Mary E . Essentials of Business Communication, 9e. 2008.
Williams, Karen S. Basic English Review, 9th Edition. 2008.