How To Use Commas And
While there s some degree of flexibility in how commas are used it s important to have a clear grasp of the rules.
How to use commas and. These commas do the same job as. In a long sentence you can use commas to separate out extra information and make the sentence easier to read. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughter in law in the above example it is known as the oxford comma most newspapers and magazines drop the oxford comma in a simple series apparently. Comma rules are the subject of much confusion and even heated debate such as whether or not to use the oxford comma. It s almost always optional to put a comma before and in a list.
There are some cases where you know you should use a comma such as when separating items in a list but there are other times when you might be unsure whether or not a comma is needed. You usually put a comma before and when it s connecting two independent clauses. The professor remarked how attentive you have been today once you know the solution tiffany said the whole problem seems very simple you have ice cream on your nose my friend snickered. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading. Commas can be a particularly tricky punctuation mark.
Use commas to set off all geographical names items in dates except the month and day addresses except the street number and name and titles in names. Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more items. Whether or not you put a comma before and depends on how you re using and there s no single rule that applies to all situations. Learning how to use commas correctly will make your writing clearer easier to read and more professional looking. Using commas with compound sentences or to separate clauses with other commas can cause confusion.
Some useful subjects are english which is an international language math which is used in all domains of sciences and social sciences and philosophy which underpins many other areas of study. There are dozens of situations that might require the use of a comma. One frequent case is the appositive a break within a sentence that supplements and adds information to the subject. Comma before and in lists. Here is an example of commas being used to create a break in a sentence.
He hit the ball dropped the bat and ran to first base you may have learned that the comma before the and is unnecessary which is fine if you re in control of things. A lot of people have strong feelings about putting a comma before and in a list. The comma is a very versatile punctuation mark. Use commas to separate attributive tags from quotations. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.