Comma usage: "In July of 2012 ..." or "In July of 2012, ..."

Question

Consider the following sentence:

In July of 2012 Jesse informed us that she was engaged to be married
  and asked if she could add her fiancée to the lease,
  beginning the 15th of August 2012.

Is it any more or less correct to place a comma after the first date?

In July of 2012, Jesse informed us that she was engaged to be married
  and asked if she could add her fiancée to the lease,
  beginning the 15th of August 2012.

Assuming one is no more correct than the other, does this change the meaning of the sentence, or is it pure style?

Bonus question: Word tells me that it's improper to place a comma after the "August" at the end of the sentence. I've always been taught that a comma should be used to separate the year from the rest of the date. Was I taught wrong, or is Word lying to me?

TrevorD · Accepted Answer

The sentence is correct with or without the comma. But the comma introduces a break/pause, which can be helpful in a longer sentence, and personally I would include it.

As regards formatting of the date, British usage used to be to separate month & year with a comma, but more recent usage omits the comma. (I can't speak for US usage, although I suspect that the comma is more likely to be included.)

In any event, for both questions, it is primarily a matter of style: there is no right or wrong way for either point.

Barrie England · Answer

In July of 2012 can be seen as a weak interruption to the sentence, and a comma after 2012 can be justified for that reason.

There’s no reason to put a comma after August. In fact, in British English, the date would probably as 15 August 2012.

LWTBP · Answer

About your question about comma between month/day and year:

The 16th ed. of Chicago Manual of Style gives the following format:

1 January 2014

or

January 1, 2014

What I understand is that the comma is used in the second example because you don't want a visual confusion between the two separate numbers—not to offset the year as such.

Hence, it would be:

1 January 2014 is a good day.

But

January 1, 2014, is a good day.

I assume that the second comma in the second example is there to prevent any misunderstanding about the meaning of the sentence, in view of the first comma.

PS: New Hart's Rule is on its way, so no idea as of now about what that says.

Comma usage: "In July of 2012 ..." or "In July of 2012, ..."

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