comma after 'Thank you' [headline; interjection]: Thank You Country
- Thread starter judybthe1
- Start date
JustKate
Senior Member
English - US
Normally you'd put commas before and after "country radio" because it's as though you're addressing this entity known as "country radio," and a direct address like that is usually set off by commas no matter where it falls in the sentence. Here are a few other examples:
"Thank you, Mary Ann, for your help."
"Thank you, America, and God bless the USA."
"Thanks and best wishes for a great year, Jeff."
"Gentlemen, start your engines."
So traditionally a direct address is set off by commas no matter who or what is being directly addressed and where that address falls in the sentence. You are absolutely right that headlines tend to be quite lax about such things as commas, but I'd still recommend using them so long as space allows. So if you have room for the little bit of extra space that commas before and after "country radio" would take up ("Thank You, Country Radio, For..."), my suggestion is that you use the commas. They help make the meaning of the sentence clearer, and clarity is at least as important in a headline as in a regular sentence.
"Thank you, Mary Ann, for your help."
"Thank you, America, and God bless the USA."
"Thanks and best wishes for a great year, Jeff."
"Gentlemen, start your engines."
So traditionally a direct address is set off by commas no matter who or what is being directly addressed and where that address falls in the sentence. You are absolutely right that headlines tend to be quite lax about such things as commas, but I'd still recommend using them so long as space allows. So if you have room for the little bit of extra space that commas before and after "country radio" would take up ("Thank You, Country Radio, For..."), my suggestion is that you use the commas. They help make the meaning of the sentence clearer, and clarity is at least as important in a headline as in a regular sentence.
Last edited:
Beryl from Northallerton
Senior Member
British English
Welcome to the forum, judybthe1! 
You occasionally see commas in headlines, but generally only when a serious misreading will arise from their absence. Yours is not such a case, and the inclusion of commas will just make it look fussy, in my opinion.
By the way, you've capitalised 'Country Radio' making me think that it is a proper noun; and if this is the name of a radio station, then it is a proper noun.
You occasionally see commas in headlines, but generally only when a serious misreading will arise from their absence. Yours is not such a case, and the inclusion of commas will just make it look fussy, in my opinion.
By the way, you've capitalised 'Country Radio' making me think that it is a proper noun; and if this is the name of a radio station, then it is a proper noun.
JustKate
Senior Member
English - US
I think the whole thing is written in headline/title case, Beryl, in which case all kinds of things that aren't normally capped are capped. For title case, the capitalization in that headline is all correct except that "for" shouldn't be capped: Thank You, Country Radio, for Making Us #1, or, if Judy decides not to use commas, Thank You Country Radio for Making Us #1.