Commas, Commas, Commas

A comma is a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence or to separate items in a list.

You should use a comma before 'and' in a list when it separates three or more items, known as the Oxford comma.

A comma is used before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to separate two independent clauses.

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

A comma should be placed after the day when writing dates, e.g., July 22, 2018.

A common mistake is placing a comma where it is not needed, such as before 'and' in a simple two-item list.

Use a comma to separate the name of the person being addressed from the rest of the sentence, e.g., "Let's eat, Grandma!"

Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun, e.g., "It was a long, tiring day."

Do not use a comma to separate a subject from its verb or a verb from its object.

"After dinner, we went for a walk, and we saw a beautiful sunset."