The mechanics of the vocative comma

Punctuation marks are central to successful communication in writing. They are to writing what stress, rhythm and intonation are to utterances. I shall set off this week’s treatise by juxtaposing a pair of sentences, thus:

1a. I understand Samson.

1b. I understand, Samson.

What is the import of these statements? 1a simply indicates that the writer understands Samson’s personality, while the implication of 1b is that the writer comprehends what Samson is saying and/or what he is about to say. Along those lines, you should note that the presence of the comma in example sentences 1b depicts a phenomenon in English grammar called the vocative case. The vocative case involves the precise deployment of a comma or two—the vocative comma—to indicate direct address; that is, when referring to somebody or something. In other words, the vocative case is emphatically established when the vocative comma precedes or succeeds the particular person or thing being addressed. The foregoing rationalisation is well exemplified by the following sentence structure:

Bode, I want tinned tomato and bottled water.

So long as Bode is addressed directly, the comma that succeeds his name is designated as the vocative comma. Other example sentences that portray the vocative comma are:

Good morning Paul (non-standard).

Good morning, Paul (standard).

Did you have a good night’s sleep Peter (non-standard)?

Did you have a good night’s sleep, Peter (standard)?

Gbenga she knows your maternal grandmother (non-standard)

Gbenga, she knows your maternal grandmother (standard).

Thank you Jesus (non-standard).

Thank you, Jesus (standard).

Have you met my dog Billy (non-standard)?

Have you met my dog, Billy (standard)?

Ibrahim, get me a cutlass at once (standard).

Your Excellency we are delighted that you honoured our invitation (non-standard).

Your Excellency, we are delighted that you honoured our invitation (standard).

You go and deliver that parcel to my mother (non-standard).

You, go and deliver that parcel to my mother (standard).

Tina, how much do you have on your person (standard)?

Not just that, if the person being addressed directly is in the middle of a statement, the name should be marked off with two vocative commas, as in:

I must acknowledge Sola that the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread (non-standard).

I must acknowledge, Sola, that the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread (standard).

To my way of thinking, Mr. Olorunsogo, John should be mentored by you (standard).

All right Godwin I look forward to seeing your brother next month (non-standard).

All right, Godwin, I look forward to seeing your brother next month (standard).

Instructively, too, it should be engraved on the readership’s minds that a noun/nominal clause can be marked off with a vocative comma, as instanced below:

Whatever you call yourself (a noun clause), leave these premises tonight (standard).

Whoever is still eating (a noun clause), ensure that those leftovers are disposed of (standard).

Furthermore, the vocative comma comes in handy whenever a noun (phrase) is in apposition to another noun (phrase); that is, when a noun (phrase) refers to and gives additional information about the noun (phrase) that is initially mentioned in a sentence. Let us consider an illustrative sentence structure:

Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently domiciled in California (non-standard).

Concerning the foregoing statement, ‘the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’, a noun phrase, is in apposition to another noun phrase, ‘Their Royal Highnesses’. By the same token, ‘the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ ought to be marked off with two vocative commas.

Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are currently domiciled in California (standard).

Also, we have:

Zagreb (noun), the capital of Croatia (noun phrase in apposition to Zagreb), is densely populated (standard).

The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has pledged to tackle the scourge of insecurity head-on (standard).

Renowned tycoon and world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, is practically amiable and unassuming (standard).

Nonetheless, there are rare instances whereby a statement will not portray vocative commas, despite the presence of a noun (phrase) that is in apposition to another. For instance:

Alexander, the Great, died in 323 BC (non-standard).

Alexander (noun) the Great (noun phrase in apposition to Alexander) died in 323 BC (standard).

Last but not least, how can a writer appropriately punctuate a series of vocative cases? For specifics, how can one punctuate the observation below?

Some of the personages that will grace the function include the Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson the author of Grammar in Discourse Form Doctor Bamgbose Africa’s wealthiest man Aliko Dangote and the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Ibukun Awosika (non-standard).

In order to forestall ambiguity or the error of mistaken identity, it is advisable to place the vocative comma before the nouns in apposition to the noun phrases, and mark off each vocative case with a semi colon.

Some of the personages that will grace the function include the Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson; the author of Grammar in Discourse Form, Doctor Bamgbose; Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote; and the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, Ibukun Awosika (standard).

This piece has demonstrated the importance of the vocative comma to meaningful written communication. The onus, therefore, is on every user of the English language to be mindful of its several uses when writing.