Proper Names Functioning as Adjectives (Can we omit the commas in all?)

[swansong]

To me, "California," "New Jersey," "Texas," "N.Y.," and "1969" are functioning as appositives in the examples below, when in fact they are not. All these words are essential information to the sentence. That said, can we drop the comma after each in the sentences below—yes or no?


Joe said, "The Sacramento, California, police department is under scrutiny."


Midge said, "The Elizabeth, New Jersey, warehouse was inspected."


Stephen said, "The Austin, Texas, jury acquitted the defendant."


Theresa said, "Brooklyn, N.Y., is where I grew up."


Frank said, "February 7, 1969, is my date of birth."


Thank you.

 

[Barb_D]

As with almost all issues of style, you will get different opinions. I would never omit those commas though I would write some sentences differently. For example, there is only one jury, not one in Austin and one somewhere else.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Keep the commas in all those examples. They're called dependent clauses, meaning (a) that they cannot stand alone as sentences and (b) the sentences would still be true if the clauses were not there: Brooklyn is where I grew up. February 7 is the date of my birth.

If a dependent clause is inside a sentence (as they are in all of your examples), it needs commas at the beginning and end of the clause. If it starts the sentence, a comma goes after it. If it ends a sentence, a comma goes before it.

- Like you, I enjoy writing.
- I, like you, enjoy writing.
- I enjoy writing, like you.

 

[Barb_D]

A clause requires a subject and verb. Those are not dependent clauses.