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Thread: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

 
  1. #1
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    Default ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    Hola, tengo una pequeña duda con respecto a si va con coma o no en te caso. He visto e-mails en donde la gente pone coma y otros no. ¿Cuál sería correcto en un e-mail formal?

    -Buenos dias, Ana:

    -Buenos días Ana:

    ¿Iría con coma? Es una pequeña duda existencial
    Gracias por la ayuda.

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    El segundo es mas correcto.


    Joel
    "El verdadero objectivo de la vida no es el destino final, si no disfrutar el camino."

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    I think the first might be correct. I think the name is considered to be a parenthetical, and therefore is separated from the rest of the sentence.

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    the first one is more correct.

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    Quote Originally Posted by mariaklec
    I think the first might be correct. I think the name is considered to be a parenthetical, and therefore is separated from the rest of the sentence.
    With Respect,

    By definition if it were parenthetical it would be separated by parentheses not a comma. I am asuming this is a formal introduction to an e-mail letter because of the colon. Therefore it would read "Buenos días Ana:" just like "Dear Ana:". If it is read as a greeting it would be "Buenos días. Ana: or Buenos dIas! Ana:". A comma would not be the correct punctuation.

    Joel
    "El verdadero objectivo de la vida no es el destino final, si no disfrutar el camino."

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    I agree with the detective, the second option is better. Without comma.

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    I'm really speaking about English---I don't know the rules in Spanish.

    In English, parentheticals can be set off with commas, dashes, parentheses, or brackets, each one having a slightly different meaning.

    I think it's a really interesting point that we would never write "Dear, Ana." I think that might be because in that case "dear" is actually an adjective that describes Ana (like "querida"). It's not a greeting. But, in English, commas are used for direct address (for example in a greeting) to show that the greeting is to the person, not about the person.

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    Excellent points and I understand your argument. In some situations I would agree with you, but not for an introduction to a letter or formal e-mail. It is confusing, however, because "Good morning" or "Buenos días" is usually a greeting.

    As I understand the situation described it is not being used as a greeting but as an introduction to a formal e-mail. If I am wrong and it is intended as a greeting then the comma would be appropriate.

    Thank you for the great discussion.

    Joel
    "El verdadero objectivo de la vida no es el destino final, si no disfrutar el camino."

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    I see both.

    Example:

    With comma:
    http://www.cadena100.es/especiales/bdjn/index.html

    Without comma: http://londres.cervantes.es/FichasCu...47680_22_1.htm

    It seems to me that "Buenos días Ana" (no comma) is the traditional way of writing the greeting.

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    Default Re: ¿Buenos días, Ana o Buenos días Ana?

    I'm not sure I understand the difference between an introduction to a formal email and a greeting. To my way of thinking, the introduction to an email is a greeting. Also, where "buenos días" seems formal, "good morning" is a rather informal greeting for an email in English. And quite possibly the conventions for punctuation differ between the two languages.

    I couldn't find a usage dictionary in Spanish or English that addresses the issue directly. The only mention of greetings is that of direct address, which does use the comma (in English). But, it leaves unanswered the question of whether or not a greeting in an email or letter is direct address or something else.

    Does anyone have a resource that deals with specifically this issue?

    Thanks for something interesting to think about!

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