Commas Commas Commas!

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

A comma should be used before 'and' in a list of three or more items to separate the last item from the rest.

For example, we know that Death Valley is one of the hottest places in the United States.

You should place a comma after the introductory phrase to separate it from the main clause.

A non-restrictive clause provides additional information but is not essential to the meaning of the sentence and is set off by commas.

You should use a comma after a name when directly addressing someone in a sentence.

Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) when it connects two independent clauses.

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

The Oxford comma is the final comma in a list of items, placed before 'and' or 'or'.

It is unnecessary to use a comma when the sentence is short and clear without it, such as in simple sentences.