Commas in Dates and Geographic Units Mini- Lesson #35From the Writing Lab’s 101 Grammar Mini-Lessons Series

Use a comma to separate each item in a date from the rest of

the sentence.

On December 8, 1941, the U.S. and Britain declared war on Japan.

Use a comma to separate each item in a geographic unit from

the rest of the sentence.

The German blitz against London, England, resulted in

widespread destruction.

If the date is used as an adjective, do not place a comma

after the year.

The December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl

Harbor is an event that will live in infamy.

Do not place a comma after the parts of a date when only two

units (the month and day or the month and year) are used.

June 6, 1944, is the day on which allied forces invaded France during World

War II.

June 6 is the day on which allied forces invaded France during World War II.

If only the month and year are used, the comma is often

omitted.

The Battle of

Iwo Jima took place in

February 1945.