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it is a common practice to separate an adverb at the beginning of a sentence from the rest with a comma. However, I have read somewhere that we can omit the comma when no pause is needed. Is this correct?

LOTR_7193
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When a single adverb -- I'm not going to get into adverbial phrases because you didn't ask about them -- introduces a sentence, appearing in advance of the subject and verb of the main clause, the rule is to follow it with a comma. The exception to this rule is when the adverb is also being used somewhat conjunctively.

Example:

  • John went to the store then he went home.

In the above, "then" is being used as a subordinating conjunction that introduces the subordinate clause "he went home." When "then" starts a sentence, however, it's not a conjunction but an adverb, so you will often see a comma after it as follows:

  • John went to the store. Then, he went home.

However, oftentimes, we hear people rattle off that second sentence without even the tiniest hesitation between "then" and "he." When people do that, it's been construed that the adverb "then" is borrowing on its subordinating conjunction definition, so it has become acceptable to write it as follows:

  • John went to the store. Then he went home.

Owing to how the adverb "then" appears without a comma after it, we also hear people using "now" in the same way, but "now" isn't a subordinating conjunction. "Now" is only an adverb. Nevertheless, it has become acceptable to write it without a comma when it seems to be used more as a conjunction to append a new sentence to a prior sentence, for example:

  • I lost my keys. Now I don't know what to do.

You should know, though, that not putting a comma after an introductory adverb, whatever the adverb, is somewhat controversial grammatically. If you want to never be wrong, always put a comma. No one can fault you for putting a comma after an introductory adverb, but you may be faulted for not doing so.

More standard adverbs, adverbs that aren't used conjunctively, adverbs that end in "-ly" for example, appear with a comma after them nearly without exception.

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    Have you better supporting references for what you say? // Your first linked article contains: 'It is permissible, even commonplace, to omit a comma after most brief introductory elements — a prepositional phrase, an adverb, or a noun phrase: ... Jauntily he walked into the hall.'// This in fact contradicts your 'adverbs that end in "-ly" for example, appear with a comma after them without exception.'. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 09 '16 at 20:37
  • Yes. See the link embedded in the answer. –  Jul 09 '16 at 20:39
  • Edwin, you're developing a habit of taking things I say out of context to imply a meaning different than what I actually said. What I said before that was "most standard adverbs," not "all." I didn't say "all" for precisely this reason. –  Jul 09 '16 at 20:43
  • (1) You need to check your spelling before complaining about wrong readings. (2) 'adverbs that end in "-ly" for example, appear with a comma after them without exception' does not allow 'most adverbs that end in -ly ...'. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 09 '16 at 20:48
  • I do check my spellings, and don't go changing my post to something that is blatantly inferior. I embedded that link for a reason. –  Jul 09 '16 at 20:50
  • (1) Site policy is that to avoid copyright infringements, you must attribute and link correctly. I was correcting your post in line with site policy. (2) 'More standards adverbs' followed by ambiguously stacked phrases (are they meant to be read as a list or apposition?) is poor. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 09 '16 at 20:55
  • 'Then' is not a subordinating conjunction. It is a temporal adverbial meaning '[at] the subsequent time'. – AmI Jul 09 '16 at 22:13
  • It is a subordinating conjunction when you say, "I went to the store then I went home." –  Jul 11 '16 at 22:52