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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
Salutation Punctuation
I specifically remember learning this punctuation in grade school and high school:
Hello, Dolly. (Hi, John.) I remember learning to put the comma after a casual opening, but if it was "Dear" or "To", etc., you would not put the comma there (Dear John, -or- To Whom It May Concern: ).
Now it seems as if everyone is writing: Hello Dolly or Hi John - with no comma.
Can you tell me if I am remembering incorrectly or if this is "old" punctuation style that has been abandoned?
Thanks,
Cora
Hello, Dolly. (Hi, John.) I remember learning to put the comma after a casual opening, but if it was "Dear" or "To", etc., you would not put the comma there (Dear John, -or- To Whom It May Concern: ).
Now it seems as if everyone is writing: Hello Dolly or Hi John - with no comma.
Can you tell me if I am remembering incorrectly or if this is "old" punctuation style that has been abandoned?
Thanks,
Cora
Top answer
Hi Anon Now it seems as if everyone is writing: Hello Dolly or Hi John - with no comma. In modern English, the stress is on less punctuation. For example, it was formerly Mr.
- Hi Anon Now it seems as if everyone is writing: Hello Dolly or Hi John - with no comma.
- In modern English, the stress is on less punctuation.
- For example, it was formerly Mr.
- (in BrE), but nowadays, it is Mr (without period).
- However, in AmE, a period is inserted after after Mr.
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16 Answers
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Hi Anon
Now it seems as if everyone is writing: Hello Dolly or Hi John - with no comma.
In modern English, the stress is on less punctuation. For example, it was formerly Mr. (in BrE), but nowadays, it is Mr (without period). However, in AmE, a period is inserted after after Mr.
I believe that other members will be able to give you more examples.
Now it seems as if everyone is writing: Hello Dolly or Hi John - with no comma.
In modern English, the stress is on less punctuation. For example, it was formerly Mr. (in BrE), but nowadays, it is Mr (without period). However, in AmE, a period is inserted after after Mr.
I believe that other members will be able to give you more examples.
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I'm sorry, but that was totally not what I was looking for...
The reference to the used comma is the one that is BETWEEN Hello and Dolly: Hello, Dolly.
As far as other punctuation, that is not my concern but thanks for the response anyway.
The reference to the used comma is the one that is BETWEEN Hello and Dolly: Hello, Dolly.
As far as other punctuation, that is not my concern but thanks for the response anyway.
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I don't think you are remembering anything incorrectly, but I do think that these days, that comma ("Hello Dolly") is very rarely used. I certainly don't.
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I specifically remember this, too. i was told by a former boss it was "Ungrammatical" -- why did I listen to that idiot? I finally did a little research and found the comma is indeed grammatical.
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hi, i'm 24 years old. "Hello, Dolly. (Hi, John.)" is exactly how i remember learning casual salutations in middle/high school on the East Coast. ...unsure whether this style is still used
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I am 26 and from the Midwest; I was also taught the "Hello, Dolly" and "Hi, John" approach. Although now that I am in the professional world on the East Coast I must say, although I still use it religiously, I rarely see it in other people's writing.
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I say use the comma. I do ... just put it in a sentence. "Dear" acts as an adjective ... "Hello" is like a sentence, a greeting to the person you are writing to, and in English, we put a comma to denote the person being spoken to. Right?
Dear (adjective) John (subject),
Hello (greeting/senence/thought), John (subject being spoken to),
In standard prose, you would wri
Dear (adjective) John (subject),
Hello (greeting/senence/thought), John (subject being spoken to),
In standard prose, you would wri
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(Forgive all my other errors here .... I was just typing too fast!)
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I use the comma between Dear and the name. I rarely, if ever, see it from anyone else. It will eventually go the way of the correct pronunciation of forte. If you have a good enough dictionary, you will see that forte, the way most people pronounce it, is an Italian musical term. The way most people use the word as meaning someone's strong point is derived from French and is pronounced pretty
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Amen to that. I was on the wrong side of forte until a mentor in grad school said she was surprised I didn't know the right way to say it. I never made that mistake again!
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