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On Thursday, 23 June 2004 at 3:15 pm, Mike Lollis resigned.

In British style, 1) Do I need to insert a comma after '2004'? 2) Can I leave 'pm' as is without the full stops in this abbreviation? 3) Do I need a comma after 'Thursday' as shown?

Or does this look better (and more polished)?

On Thursday, June 23, 2004, at 3:15 p.m., Mike Lollis resigned.

Thanks.

whippoorwill
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  • The best treatment of question (2) here is, I believe, found in the How do I manage periods for abbreviations with parentheses, right before a period? thread (there are other relevant threads). – Edwin Ashworth Apr 06 '13 at 12:38

1 Answers1

2

If you are asking about British custom and practice, it's usual to alternate words and numbers in a date: Thursday 23 June 2004, not Thursday June 23 2004. It's also common to omit commas in a date, particularly when it's part of another sentence which needs its own commas. You don't need full-stops in pm, but there is no harm in using them either.

I would write

On Thursday 23 June 2004 at 3:15pm, Mike Lollis resigned.

Actually, I wouldn't write that; I'd put the second clause first. But anyway...

Using a thin space in the time (before pm) would be an improvement — particularly when using non-lining figures — but that's not easy to achieve in normal settings.

You could put a comma after 2004 which would turn "at 3:15pm" into a parenthetical insertion:

On Thursday 23 June 2004, at 3:15pm, Mike Lollis resigned.

If you want a comma after Thursday it would be better to have another after 2004:

On Thursday, 23 June 2004, at 3:15pm, Mike Lollis resigned.

I would have no problem with a liberal scattering of punctuation as your edit suggests:

On Thursday, 23 June 2004, at 3:15 p.m., Mike Lollis resigned.

Summary

You can use as little punctuation as is grammatically required (just a single comma) or as much as might be justified (three commas and the abbreviation full-stops). What is necessary for British practice is to ensure that the day and date come before the month.

Community
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Andrew Leach
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  • ISecond clause first? Like this? Mike Lollis resigned on Thursday 23 June 2004 at 3:15pm.

    At 3:15pm Thursday 23 June 2004, Mike Lollis resigned.

     – whippoorwill Apr 06 '13 at 13:08
  • "Mike Lollis resigned on Thursday 23 June 2004." Including the time: "Mike Lollis resigned at 3:15pm on Thursday 23 June 2004." It depends whether the resignation is the thing you focus on (when it comes first), or the date (so you mention that first). – Andrew Leach Apr 06 '13 at 13:09
  • I like your original (which you said you wouldn't use). Is it correct? 'On Thursday 23 June 2004 at 3:15pm, Mike Lollis resigned.' I prefer this, especially in a report format. – whippoorwill Apr 06 '13 at 13:12
  • Yes, it's correct, but it's not my writing style. However there are circumstances where putting the date and time first might be reasonable, particularly when you are setting out a timeline for example. This is why it's important to give as much information as possible about the context of the question. – Andrew Leach Apr 06 '13 at 13:16
  • I'm in America, and I use British style in my reports all the time (no house style exists at my workplace). I like it because British style uses minimal punctuation, not clunky, cumbersome punctuation that gives one a migraine when he or she reads it. – whippoorwill Apr 06 '13 at 13:28
  • But we do use two orthographic words for period. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 06 '13 at 16:55