How to make a degree symbol on a Chromebook, How to use an apostrophe after a name ending with S, The gender neutral option for niece and nephew. Comma after happy birthday. “Gas is too expensive” said the experienced driver. However, the advent of technology has also dramatically transformed communication that somehow affected the misuse and disuse of language devices. A direct address may come in the form of names, endearments, and titles of people, but they are. So, now, back to the present times, what would happen then if we keep on disusing commas at an incremental frequency? “Ouch” screamed the boy after he was stung by a bee. There are pros and cons to these changes, obviously enough, but at least with the topic being discussed in this post, technology has propelled the disuse of commas after “Happy birthday.”. A post-comma isn’t placed either when we leave out the name of the message recipient, especially when the context already implies it vividly. Thus, when the phrase “Happy birthday” is directed to a particular person, an animal, or any other entity, then a post-phrase comma has to be placed. ). Have you ever taken a pause while writing utterly ordinary phrases to contemplate whether or not a comma should be shoved in? Please become a monthly subscriber to show your support. And, have you ever deliberately consulted Dr. Google for these types of writing concerns? This is what we call a “direct address” wherein we talk directly “toward” a person, as opposed to only talking “about” a person in the written language. Consider these two examples, one with the comma and one without: In the first example, it’s clear that we’re asking James if he ate. … Cozmo "takes the cake" in this special birthday surprise. In fact, humans may also communicate with animals, plants, and inanimate beings which also necessitates the use of a direct address when represented in writing. People seem to be confused about whether “Happy birthday” should be followed by a comma or not. a direct address necessitates comma placement notwithstanding its location in a sentence. Good luck, Lisa! Have you ever taken a pause while writing utterly ordinary phrases to contemplate whether or not a comma should be shoved in? Some people consider the Oxford Comma stylistic which means it’s not really required. Is it always necessary to use an exclamation mark after “Happy birthday?”. Have you ever taken a pause while writing utterly ordinary phrases to contemplate. Remember that the comma should always come after “birthday” and not before the name when some words are used to pre-modify the name. Remember that the comma should always come after “birthday” and. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper. “Ready, Set, Go” yelled the mom before the treasure hunt. Also, we won’t need the help of commas when the phrase is used in an indirect speech such as in the sentence below where it functions as a direct object. These birthday quotes are a great place to start, but don’t think you have to stick … Posted on Published: January 29, 2021 Categories English. Birthday is a common noun. One of the main purposes of the written language is to imitate oral speech in the most authentic and comprehensible manner. Closing Thoughts. Goodbye, Juan. However, the advent of technology has also dramatically transformed communication that somehow affected the misuse and disuse of language devices, such as commas. Here was their example: In short, yes, include a comma when wishing a specific person a happy birthday. This means that a direct address is always separated with a comma when it appears. They were expected to deliver their arguments in the most eloquent way possible without looking at any scrolls serving as teleprompters. in the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Or have the Neuralink engineers finally decided to just butcher and devour Elon Musk’s most favorite chip-implanted pig? Now that the basic yardsticks have been laid out, let’s also try to cover the implication of not being able to insert commas appropriately. Find happy birthday stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Instead, a direct address, also grammatically known as the vocative case, is a way of representing oral speech in writing that is intended for an addressee. Needless to say, it should be encapsulated with two commas when it is inserted halfway through the sentence. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Plus, when a seemingly-trivial mistake becomes all-too-common, there’s a high tendency for it to become part of the norm. Happy Birthday son! And, lastly, we may also add some spice to the greeting by shoving in some adjectives before the name. In the second example, we’re asking whomever it is we’re addressing whether they ate James. The Oxford Comma refers to that serial comma used before coordinating conjunctions in a list of things. Should we capitalize both of the initial letters in “Happy birthday?”. , have you ever deliberately consulted Dr. Google for these types of writing concerns? Happy is capitalized sometimes. Hello, George. Generally, yes, we do need a comma after writing or typing “Happy birthday” when the message is directly intended for a specific person, a pet, a plant, and so on. Loving you is my greatest joy, you make it so easy! Or to separate days of the … “Happy Birthday and all the best to you in the year to come!” “It’s a pleasure to work with you…and to wish you a happy birthday!” “[Karen], all work and no play makes us dull girls. The simple answer to this question is when the greeting is not directly followed by a direct addressee’s name. He complained that written texts were quite hard to understand and that the message’s implication couldn’t be emphasized clearly when read aloud. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. To some extent, seeing people talking to their pets, plants, cars, or. punctuation marks simply because they weren’t necessary at all. I am a copywriter and copyeditor. So, in case you have been wondering about this exact problem, then please read on! Human civilization has managed to take good care of punctuation marks for umpteen years, only to be a day late and a dollar short to self-destruct mode at present. Let’s start simple. Because you’re addressing a person directly, there should be a comma between the greeting and the person’s name. One or more commas is required in direct address. Find happy birthday golfer stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Put simply, it is not the information that contains our house number, street name, apartment number, city and state names, and zip code. Merry Christmas, Mary. PM Modi's 70th Birthday: On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 70th birthday, Shilpa Shetty, Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Virat Kohli and Chetan Bhagat were … Again, traditionally, a comma is needed between the phrase and the name. A direct address may come in the form of names, endearments, and titles of people, but they are not limited to these alone, of course. This means you don’t capitalize it. Hey fellow Linguaholics! Happy birthday text written on wooden cube on color glitter with beautiful real heart shape bokeh light Happy Birthday Decorations Banner. Wherever life takes you, I will always be so proud of you. Normally, we would simply address the person with his or her first name especially when the relationship is already well-established. Comma after “Happy Birthday”: The Definitive Guide. Using a comma can sometimes save a life. This implies that when someone keeps neglecting proper commas in writing, particularly in a direct address, the meaning of the message could easily invite misinterpretation. This then gave birth to our non-lexical symbols which are used to signal pauses, stops, and emphatic effects, the punctuation marks. Happy Birthday dear son. The case with the birthday greeting falls under the sentence-final direct address, which essentializes a comma after the “Happy birthday” part. "Achievement unlocked": Meaning, Usage & Examples, "Intricate Text" in Grammarly: Meaning & How to Fix It. What some got right was the comma: Happy birthday, Lynn! To some extent, seeing people talking to their pets, plants, cars, or even to themselves restores my faith in humanity, so to speak. “Gertrude” is some old lady’s name, right? ), so it’s capitalized only... Use a comma. These commas also help a lot in marking the difference between direct and indirect speeches in writing, hence the unquestionable salience. Here are some other examples of addressing others, and you can see that we use a comma for each: Did you find this article helpful? Put simply, it is not the information that contains our house number, street name, apartment number, Instead, a direct address, also grammatically known as the. Happy Birthday, Cozmo! Happy Birthday to our amazing son, who is growing up to be such an amazing man! It’s used in sentences to reduce ambiguity and to make them easier to understand. Happy 90th Birthday, Ed! Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. Thus, a written language user’s discretion on comma usage is highly advised. However, we do not place a post-comma when the phrase is followed by “to you” instead of an addressee’s name. The decision lies at the tip of your fingers, literally speaking. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. Of course, it won’t necessarily put comma disusers behind bars twenty-five to life, nor would it make the celebrant throw a birthday fit just because of a missing comma. , is a way of representing oral speech in writing that is intended for an addressee. … Happy Birthday 19 years ago today a sweet little miracle ball saw the light of day for the very first time. When the birthday greeting is followed by a person’s name which is called a direct address or vocative case in grammar, we need not capitalize “B” in “birthday,” but we do need to capitalize both initial letters when we refer to the phrase either as a song or book title. Checking up on the Backstreet Boys’ Facebook page, I have found that the post for Nick Carter’s birthday has received several thousands of comments. Some sentences ago, it was mentioned that a direct address necessitates comma placement notwithstanding its location in a sentence. The early democratic leaders did not rely too much on pre-made written documents when making a speech in public. Interestingly, at least in the first twenty of these, only two commentators have successfully punctuated their birthday message to the now 41-year-old pop star. It’s me, Marcel. Happy Birthday to the boy who has taught me more about the world and about myself than anyone else. We may also use terms of endearments rather than actual names, but take note not to capitalize the initial letters in these words, though. Hope it’s happy!” “Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for baking you the cake in the break room. There are pros and cons to these changes, enough, but at least with the topic being discussed in this post, technology has propelled the disuse of commas after “Happy birthday.”. Source(s): just years of English instruction So, digression aside, let’s now look at some specific examples of how to use and punctuate birthday greetings in texts. We sang Happy Birthday to Vanessa earlier. that the basic yardsticks have been laid out, let’s also try to cover the implication of not being able to insert commas appropriately. The comma acts as the "pause" in the sentence: Happy Birthday (pause) Bob! © Linguaholic 2021 | Iseli International Commerce | Privacy Policy | About Us. Happy also isn’t a proper noun (Heck, it’s not even a noun. So don’t work too hard on your birthday. The sister told the brother “of course I will pick you up.” 4. https://linguaholic.com/linguablog/comma-after-happy-birthday This means that a direct address is always separated with a comma when it appears either in the beginning or at the end of the sentence. And, have you ever deliberately consulted Dr. Google for these types of writing concerns? Back in the old times, our early Greek ancestors used to write texts without spaces nor punctuation marks simply because they weren’t necessary at all. Use a comma in your dates to separate date and year. So, the next time you’d miss out on inserting a quick comma in a direct address, remember that you’re actually putting someone’s life on the line. Lastly, we need not use a comma if we refer to the phrase as a song title, meanwhile capitalizing the initial letters of each word as well. Wait, what? It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general. However, a period is grammatically acceptable as well, which can be done to create a more neutral and formal tone. aside, let’s now look at some specific examples of how to use and punctuate birthday greetings in texts. , a conversation needs at least two entities to occur, but it doesn’t mean that the other party should be able to proactively respond. , take a quick look at the next example to understand the importance of the comma placement rule better. When writing “happy birthday”, is the name preceded by a comma? I recently had someone visit my website asking me whether they needed to include a comma before a name in a birthday greeting. 5. But, take a quick look at the next example to understand the importance of the comma placement rule better. The reason is direct address. 2. Section 5: Using commas to separate quotes. A direct address needs to be offset clearly with commas from the rest of the sentence, regardless of which part they appear. to themselves restores my faith in humanity, so to speak. Since you are addressing the person, you set his or her name off with a comma just like you would in a full sentence, e.g. The phrasing below does not need a comma because it talks about Ed rather than to him: Happy 90th Birthday to Ed! A direct address needs to be offset clearly with commas from the rest of the sentence. 1. A direct address isn’t those words that we put when filling out the address tabs in creating an account for an online shop. We wished Vannessa a happy birthday earlier. 3. before the name when some words are used to pre-modify the name. Yes, we should use a post-greeting comma when it is followed by a direct address which may be expressed as names of people, pets, plants, or even other inanimate objects that we deliberately consider as another interlocutor, which means a hearer or speaker in a dialogue. "I hope you have a happy birthday, Michael." , we won’t need the help of commas when the phrase is used in an indirect speech such as in the sentence below where it functions as a direct object. Generally, when we want to convey more emphasis and emotion in written birthday greetings, we can use an exclamation point to imitate oral speech. Well, who wouldn’t want to reduce a couple of keyboard clicks in typing those birthday messages, right? However, it is worth pointing out (to higher-level students) that people often drop the comma in these phrases on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc. Are you comfortable, Sabine? Back in the old times, our early Greek ancestors used to write texts without spaces. As a result, the direct address, which is often used in oral speech, was given its official job post in the world of written languages. Not necessarily. Thousands of new, high … Correct: Happy Birthday, … One such phrase that often causes trouble is the well-known “Happy birthday phrase.”. , humans may also communicate with animals, plants, and inanimate beings which also necessitates the use of a direct address when represented in writing. Congratulations, team! Happy birthday, John! In other cases, we might want to infuse more formality when writing the greeting towards a perceived person of authority, so we add name titles. Apparently, a conversation needs at least two entities to occur, but it doesn’t mean that the other party should be able to proactively respond. Plus, for some reason, the comma is not available upfront in the alpha-keyboard in mobile phones, at least for those non-android users. Colorful happy birthday banner with confetti falling and balloons floating over white background Oops, sorry if that went a little too dark and satirical, but I hope I’ve made my point clearly enough. However, for some reason, punctuation marks were developed later when a writer named Aulus Gellius just had had enough. , when the phrase “Happy birthday” is directed to a particular person, an animal, or any other entity, then a post-phrase comma has to be placed. We do not place a comma after “Happy birthday” when the entity name is located later in the sentence as in the next example. Should we always put a comma after a greeting? That is, the message was directly addressing Ed, so his name needed to be set off by a comma. Happy Birthday stands on its own; Bob is an afterthought or attachment, if you will. That greeting is an example of direct address, that is, of directly addressing the reader. No. Including the comma whenever you address someone (whether it’s for a happy birthday or otherwise) provides clarity. Just take a look at Facebook on any given day, when hundreds of a user’s “friends” wish them a happy birthday or offer holiday greetings, and you’ll see their glaring absence. Share with all of you guys what I know about languages and Linguistics in general old times our... A specific person a Happy birthday ” and be offset clearly with commas from the rest of sentence. Means it ’ s name unquestionable salience to the greeting by shoving in some before. A common noun ”, is the name when some words are used to pre-modify the preceded. Name especially when the greeting by shoving in some adjectives before the name and punctuate greetings... Greeting and the name clicks in typing those birthday messages, right the boy after he stung... Person directly, there should be followed by a comma in your dates separate! 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