Can you use commas before and

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He walked down the street, and then he turned the corner. You can go shopping with me, or you can go to a movie alone. Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase Rule: Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase. When Evan was ready to iron, his cat tripped on the cord. Near a small stream at the bottom of the canyon, park rangers discovered a gold mine. Use a comma between all items in a series Rule: Use a comma to separate each item in a series; a series is a group of three or more items having the same function and form in a sentence.

We bought apples, peaches, and bananas today. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive clauses Rule: Use commas to enclose clauses not essential to the meaning of a sentence. Steven Strom, whose show you like, will host a party next week.

Use a comma to set off appositives Rule: An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames a nearby noun. Alexander Pope, the Restoration poet, is famous for his monologues. Use a comma to indicate direct address Rule: When a speaker in a sentence names the person to whom he is speaking, this addressing of his audience is called direct address. Use commas to set off direct quotations Rule: A dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. Use commas with dates, addresses, titles, and numbers Rules for dates: In dates, the year is set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of commas.

Example: On December 12, , orders were sent out for the arrest of Sitting Bull. Clauses that begin with "that" are usually essential to the sentence and do not require commas. That last comma, known as the serial comma, Oxford comma, or Harvard comma, causes serious controversy.

Although many consider it unnecessary, others including Business Insider insist on its use to reduce ambiguity. There's an Internet meme that demonstrates its necessity perfectly.

The version without the Oxford comma, however, takes on an entirely different meaning, potentially suggesting that only one invitation was sent — to two strippers named JFK and Stalin. Read more: 12 everyday phrases that you're probably saying incorrectly. Many adverbs end in "ly" and answer the question "how? How did something happen? Adverbs that don't end in "ly," such as "when" or "while," usually introduce a dependent clause, which rule number two in this post already covered.

Also insert a comma when "however" starts a sentence, too. Phrases like "on the other hand" and "furthermore" also fall into this category. Starting a sentence with "however," however, is discouraged by many careful writers. A better method would be to use "however" within a sentence after the phrase you want to negate, as in the previous sentence. Read more: 11 reasons the English language is impossible to learn.

Another clever meme shows the problem with incorrect placement of this comma. The version with a comma, however, instructs them to stop attending hip dance clubs.

Only coordinate adjectives require a comma between them. Two adjectives are coordinate if you can answer yes to both of these questions: 1. Does the sentence still make sense if you reverse the order of the words? Does the sentence still make sense if you insert "and" between the words? Since "I saw the mean, big duck " and "I saw the big and mean duck" both sound fine, you need the comma. Sentences with non-coordinate adjectives, however, don't require a comma.

For example, "I lay under the powerful summer sun. This often occurs with adjunct nouns, a phrase where a noun acts as an adjective describing another noun — like "chicken soup" or "dance club. Read more: 9 ways to become a better speller, according to an expert. If you're trying to indicate a natural pause or inject your dialogue with some dramatic effect, commas can be your friend.

Put whatever comes first in quotes, end that quote with a comma, and then end the attribution with a comma. This creates the grammatical equivalent of someone pausing while speaking — the commas make you stop at each clause, but let you know that the sentence is still flowing.

In the above sentence, a comma tells you that Scrooge and the extended McDuck clan are to jump in a pot of money. Without the comma, it would seem that multiple Scrooges were raking in the coins. As you may recall from above , an independent clause has a subject and a verb and can stand on its own as a sentence. Often, a coordinating conjunction will connect two independent clauses — like the word "but. But — and it's a big but — your middle school teacher may have told you to always throw a comma before "but.

You should only put a comma before "but" when connecting two independent clauses. As fun as it may be to say, the comma "splice" should be avoided.