How to Use Commas in Addresses and Dates

Learning how to write an address on an envelope is a good skill to master. However, often times, people incorrectly use commas and other punctuation in addresses and dates, which can throw things off, including the postal service! While commas are good, all-purpose separators, they should be used properly for an accurate and professional piece of writing or envelope. Use commas especially when items that are usually placed on individual lines are put next to each other on the same line.

How to write an address

Writing an address with proper punctuation on a traditional envelope can be accomplished by completing the steps below:

1. Write the recipient’s name on the first line.
2. Write the street address or post office (P.O.) box number on the second line.
3. Write the city, state, and ZIP code on the third.

To put this into use, let’s use an example of two characters communicating with addresses and dates in their writing. Jill is from Mars. Belle is from a small town called Venus. Here’s her (fictional) address the way you see it on an envelope using the steps provided above:

Ms. Belle Planet

223 Center Street

Venus, New York 10001

In the body of a letter, you can also write an address in envelope form like this:

Please send a dozen rockets to the following address:

Ms. Belle Planet

223 Center Street

Venus, New York 10001

The introductory words (Please send a dozen rockets to the following address) end with a colon ( : ) if they express a complete unit of thought. If the introductory words leave you hanging (Please send a dozen rockets to, for example), don’t use a colon.

If you put Belle’s address into a sentence, you have to separate each item of the address, as you see here:

Belle Planet lives at 223 Center Street, Venus, New York 10001.

Commas in addresses can be tricky — notice that the house number and street are not separated by a comma, nor are the state and ZIP code.

If the sentence continues, you must separate the last item in the address from the rest of the sentence with another comma:

Belle Planet lives at 223 Center Street, Venus, New York 10001, but she is thinking of moving to Mars in order to be closer to her friend Jill.

If there is no street address — just a city and a state — put a comma between the city and the state. If the sentence continues after the state name, place a comma after the state.

Belle Planet lives in Venus, New York, but she is thinking of moving to Mars.

Commas also separate countries from the city/state/province:

Roger lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, near a large body of water. His brother Michael just built a house in Zilda, Wisconsin.

How to punctuate written dates

The rules for placing commas in dates aren’t very stable these days. What was once carved into stone is now sometimes viewed as old-fashioned. To make matters even more complicated, writers from different areas (science, literature, and the like) favor different systems. If you’re writing for publication, check with your editor about the publisher’s preferred style.

If the date is alone on a line (perhaps at the top of a letter), these formats are fine:

• September 28, 2060 (traditional)
• Sept. 28, 2060 (traditional)
• 28 September 2060 (modern in the United States, traditional in many other countries)

When dates appear in a sentence, the format changes depending upon how traditional you want to be and how much information you want to give:

On September 28, 2060, Lulu ate several thousand gummy candies. (Traditional: commas separate the day and year and the year from the rest of the sentence.)

In October, 2060, Lulu gave up sugary snacks. (Traditional: a comma separates the month from the year and the year from the rest of the sentence.)

Lulu pigs out every October 31. (Timeless: both the traditional and modern camp omit commas in this format.)

In October 2060 Lulu suffered from severe indigestion. (Modern: no commas appear.)

Lulu visited a nutritionist on 20 October 2060. (Modern: no commas appear.)