Commas

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

A comma should be used before a conjunction (like 'and', 'but', 'or') when it connects two independent clauses.

An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence, containing a subject and a verb.

I wanted to go for a walk, but it started to rain.

A dependent clause is a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence and usually begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Commas should be used to separate items in a list of three or more.

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

A comma should be placed after an introductory phrase or clause before the main clause.

Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.

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