Commas

Commas are used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence, to separate items in a list, and to clarify meaning.

Use commas to separate each item in the list, placing 'and' before the last item.

A comma should be placed before the conjunction (and, or, but) when it connects two independent clauses.

A comma should be used after an introductory phrase or clause to separate it from the main clause.

The Oxford comma is the final comma in a list of items, placed before 'and' or 'or'. It is used to avoid ambiguity.

Use commas to separate two or more adjectives that equally modify a noun.

Non-essential clauses should be set off with commas, while essential clauses should not.

Use commas to separate the name of the person being addressed from the rest of the sentence.

Use commas to separate the day from the month, the year from the day, and elements of an address.

Use a comma before the coordinating conjunction that connects two independent clauses.