How a Comma Killed Tiffany Trump

In a recent tweet, our new president wrote:

At 9:00 P.M. @CNN, of all places, is doing a Special Report on my daughter, Ivanka. Considering it is CNN, can't imagine it will be great!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2017

Sadly, Trump knows nothing about grammar. If he did, he’d have written:

“My daughter Ivanka” (without the comma).

Why?

Because “My daughter Ivanka” means he has multiple daughters, whereas “My daughter, Ivanka” means he has only one. (He has two daughters; the other is Tiffany.)

Commas can kill.

Here’s another example:

“If you’re like to meet my friend, Susan, please join us for dinner.”

means I have only one friend.

Whereas:

“If you’d like to meet my friend Susan, please join for us dinner.”

means Susan is one of my friends.

See also “When to Use a Comma Before Someone’s Name.”