Commas With Direct Address - Search For Entries Starting With C

Home » Where Do Commas Go In Addresses » Commas With Direct Address - Search For Entries Starting With C

Maybe your like

Public Services and Procurement Canada Symbol of the Government of Canada Translation Bureau | Bureau de la traduction Writing Tips

Writing Tips

http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca

Skip to content | Skip to institutional links Common menu bar links
  • Français
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Help
  • Search Canada.ca
  • Canada.ca

Home > TERMIUM Plus® > Writing Tips > Search for entries starting with C > commas with direct address

Institutional Links

  • Translation Bureau

  • Language Portal of Canada

  • TERMIUM Plus®

  • Writing tools, expand/collapse

    • HyperGrammar2
    • The Canadian Style
    • Writing Tips
    • Clefs du français pratique
    • Dictionnaire des cooccurrences
    • Juridictionnaire
    • Le guide du rédacteur

  • Index C

    • caddie
    • caddy
    • Caesar
    • Caesarean
    • Caesarism
    • caldron
    • Calgarian
    • Calgary
    • call a halt to
    • call an end to
    • call into question
    • camomile
    • Canada
    • Canada Day
    • Canadian dollar (symbol) (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
    • Canadianisms: Prairies
    • CANDU
    • Candu
    • can not
    • cannot
    • cantaloup
    • cantaloupe
    • canvas
    • canvass
    • capable of
    • capacity for
    • capital
    • capitalization: astronomical terms
    • capitalization: biological terms
    • capitalization: buildings
    • capitalization: chemical and medical terms
    • capitalization: compounds
    • capitalization: copyrighted names
    • capitalization: cultural periods
    • capitalization: deities
    • capitalization: family relationships
    • capitalization: general points
    • capitalization: geographical terms
    • capitalization: governments and government bodies
    • capitalization: headings
    • capitalization: initial words
    • capitalization: institutions
    • capitalization: legal usage
    • capitalization: lists
    • capitalization: medals
    • capitalization: military terms
    • capitalization: modes of transportation
    • capitalization: names of institutions
    • capitalization of logos
    • capitalization: parts of a book or document
    • capitalization: personal names
    • capitalization: personifications and abstractions
    • capitalization: political parties and movements
    • capitalization: publications and works of art
    • capitalization: races; languages; peoples
    • capitalization: salutation and complimentary close
    • capitalization: school subjects
    • capitalization: scientific names containing personal names
    • capitalization: seasons
    • capitalization: SI/metric units
    • capitalization: single letters used as words
    • capitalization: sporting events and trophies
    • capitalization: terms indicating time or sequence
    • capitalization: terms related to religion
    • capitalization: time references and historical periods and events
    • capitalization: words derived from proper nouns
    • capitalizing member of Parliament
    • capitalizing shortened titles
    • capital letters for emphasis
    • capitals in titles of office or rank
    • Capitol
    • carat
    • caret
    • Cariboo
    • caribou
    • carousal
    • carousel
    • carrot
    • carrousel
    • carry out an examination of
    • case law
    • cast
    • caste
    • catalyse
    • catalyze
    • cater-corner
    • catsup
    • cauldron
    • CDT
    • ceed and cede
    • CEGEP
    • censor
    • censure
    • centi-
    • Central Daylight Time
    • Central Standard Time
    • centre on
    • chamomile
    • chaperon
    • chaperone
    • chapter and verse
    • characteristic
    • chargeable
    • Charlottetonian
    • Charlottetown
    • Charlottetowner
    • Chechen
    • check
    • check in
    • check-in
    • cheque
    • chord
    • Christmas
    • circum-
    • cite
    • City of Gardens
    • City of Québec
    • classic
    • classical
    • clear communication: choose positive over negative phrasing
    • clear communication: coherence
    • clear communication: overview of the writing process and techniques
    • clear communication: polish your paragraphs
    • clear communication: reduce redundancy
    • clear communication: responsibilities of writers
    • clear communication: simplify your sentences
    • clear communication: transition words
    • clear communication: turn nouns into verbs
    • clear communication: use clear words and expressions
    • clear communication: use the active voice
    • clear communication: write clear and effective briefing notes
    • clear communication: write relevant and effective emails
    • clear verbal communication
    • cliché
    • close proximity
    • close scrutiny
    • closure
    • cloture
    • cluster together
    • co-
    • collectable
    • collectible
    • collocate
    • colloquial
    • co-locate
    • colon
    • coloration
    • colour
    • colourful
    • combat
    • combine
    • combine together
    • come as a disappointment
    • comma after a clause acting as subject
    • comma before because
    • commas for clarity and emphasis
    • commas for omitted words
    • commas in a date
    • commas in geographical names and addresses
    • commas properly omitted
    • commas with absolute expressions
    • commas with adjective clauses
    • commas with adverb clauses
    • commas with appositives
    • commas with direct address
    • commas with interjections
    • commas with introductory elements
    • commas with names and titles
    • commas with non-restrictive elements
    • commas with parenthetic expressions
    • commas with such as
    • commas with tag questions
    • commence
    • commend for
    • commensurate with
    • common
    • compare
    • compare to
    • compare with
    • compass points
    • complement
    • completely revolutionize
    • complex sentence
    • compliment (1)
    • compliment (2)
    • compliment on
    • comply with
    • compose
    • compound-complex sentence
    • compound personal pronouns
    • compound sentences
    • comprise (1)
    • comprise (2)
    • concern
    • concerned
    • concur in
    • concur with
    • conformity with
    • conform to
    • conjunctive adverb
    • connaisseur
    • connoisseur
    • consensus
    • consensus of opinion
    • consistent with
    • consist in
    • consist of
    • constitute
    • contend with
    • continual
    • continuous
    • contra-
    • contrast
    • contrast with
    • converge on
    • conversant with
    • coolist
    • co-op
    • co-operate
    • co-operation
    • co-operative
    • coordinate elements
    • coordinating conjunctions
    • Coppermine
    • copy
    • cord
    • correlate with
    • correlative conjunctions
    • correspond to
    • correspond with
    • cosy
    • could have
    • could of
    • could’ve
    • council
    • councillor
    • counsel
    • counsellor
    • counter-
    • couple more
    • couple of
    • courses and degrees
    • Cowtown
    • cozy
    • cracker
    • Croat
    • Croatian
    • CST
    • cue
    • cue up
    • culminate in
    • custom
    • Cypro-

  • Proactive Disclosure

-->

Important notice

Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.

For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!

Search and Functionalities Area

Search Canada.ca To begin your search, go to the alphabetical index below and click on the first letter of the word you are searching for. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ commas with direct address

Direct address involves the use of a person’s name or title to address a remark or a question directly to that person.

Not every use of a person’s name is a case of direct address. Often we use someone’s name to speak about that person rather than directly to him or her. For example, if you say, “Alison went to the concert,” you are talking about Alison, not to her.

But suppose you say, “Alison, how did you like the concert?” Then you are talking directly to Alison, and you are using her name to get her attention and to show that the question is meant for her. This use of Alison’s name to speak directly to her is an example of direct address.

Comma use with direct address

When using direct address in writing, you use a comma to separate the person’s name from the rest of the sentence.

  • Halynka, I hope you made perogies for the potluck!

Location of the name

The name used in direct address can appear at the beginning, at the end or in the middle of the sentence. (When it is in the middle, it has a comma before and after it, as in the third example below.)

  • Claudio, I heard you made ricotta dumplings for supper.
  • Show me the dress you bought, Samina.
  • Tell me, Carl, how do you like your new job?

Titles in place of names

Finally, direct address doesn’t need to involve a name. A title can be used in place of a name, as in the following examples:

  • Excuse me, sir, you dropped something.
  • Listen up, girls and boys!
  • Ladies and gentlemen, the play is about to begin.

© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2026 TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank Writing tools – Writing Tips A product of the Translation Bureau

Date Modified: 2015-10-15 Top of Page Terms and conditions

Tag » Where Do Commas Go In Addresses