Comma with Introductory Exclamations (Well, Oh, Why, Alas, My)
The Comma
Rulebase Summary
Use a comma to set off 'well,' 'why,' 'oh,' 'alas,' 'my,' and similar mild exclamations when they are used as introductory words. Use a pair of commas when they interrupt the flow mid-sentence. For courtroom transcripts, do not use exclamation points. Use a period (not a comma) to separate 'okay' and 'all right' when they are spoken as acknowledgments of a previous response.
Examples
A. Well I did not expect him to be there.
A. Well, I did not expect him to be there.
Comma after mild introductory exclamation 'Well.'
A. Oh I thought you meant the other parking lot.
A. Oh, I thought you meant the other parking lot.
Comma after 'Oh' used as a mild introductory word.
Transcript Notes
Strong interjections (profanity, expletives) take a period after them — they stand as their own sentence. Mild interjections (oh, well, boy, say) take a comma after them at the beginning of a sentence and a comma before them at the end. When interjections are strung together at the beginning of a sentence, each one is separated by punctuation. When a mild interjection is in the middle of the sentence, it is surrounded with commas.
Style Guide References (7)
Morson's
BGGP
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