

Q. Is it “Hello Mr. Doe” or “Hello, Mr. Doe”?

Q. Please tell me if it’s permissible to use a comma rather than a semicolon in the following sentence: “The idea isn’t to use the test to get people in trouble, it’s to help them avoid decisions they’ll regret later.” The rules seem to suggest that a semicolon is preferred but not absolutely required; a semicolon feels to me like it separates the thoughts more than I’d like.

Q. How should the sentence “Guess what” be punctuated? I realize that it’s technically an imperative sentence, which should end with a period (or exclamation point), but in many contexts it’s used as if it were interrogatory, and thus it’s often punctuated with a question mark rather than a period. Is this simply incorrect?

Q. Hi, CMOS people. You answered a question for me a few days ago, about using a comma or a colon to introduce dialogue in a book project we are doing. We took your advice and are using commas. My friend, though, would still like to use a colon to introduce internal dialogue. (Michael thought: if I go home now, Mother will know I forgot something). Would that be OK, or should we stick to commas for everything? Thanks!!

Q. This may be impossible to answer, but I feel it’s important, so I’m gonna give it my best shot. This is how I would punctuate the following:

Can you believe that I said, “When she says, ‘Do you know which fruit Jim likes best: apples, bananas, or oranges?,’ tell her this: ‘Actually, I once overheard Jim say, “I only eat pears!” ’.”?!


Q. With the author-date system, I know that punctuation is supposed to follow the reference—for example, “And his other misfortune” (Brown 2001, 1a). But does this still hold true for questions? It just plain looks wrong to me. For example:

It appears as if, in the culture of breast cancer, death is a taboo: “Why is there no room in this cult for some gracious acceptance of death, when the time comes, which it surely will, through cancer or other misfortune” (Ehrenreich 2001, 1a)?


Q. Are the commas in the following placed correctly? (The sentence cannot be recast.) “She took a workshop titled, ‘Writer’s Workshop,’ several years ago.” Thank you.