A small question of punctuation

[aj]

I wanted to ask you guys for some opinions on a particular construct that I'm running into a lot, and I'm not sure exactly what is correct. Here's an example:

"I wish you wouldn't do that, George," he said.

My issue is with how many commas are correct here. It seems to me, intuitively, that there is one too many commas in that sentence, but...what do y'all think? I know, it's a picayune point, and I could probably get the answer out of "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" but the truth is, i'm too damn lazy to look the answer up.

cheers!

aj

[blue]

It's correct as is, aj. One comma before addressing the person and one closing the quote before the cue stating who the speaker was.

[The Pecman]

Blue is right. It's exactly right as-is.

There are many situations in writing, unfortunately, where correct grammar and punctuation look a little odd at first glance. For more on this, check out these references:

The Chicago Manual of Style

by University of Chicago Press Staff

The Elements of Style (4th Edition)

by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White

and my personal favorite:

Eats, Shoots & Leaves:

The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

by Lynne Truss

All three belong in any serious writer's library, and you can get used copies very cheap through Amazon and other used booksellers.