When to Use Commas?

We use commas in a variety of writing situations. Here are the most common ways you will see
commas being used.

1. Before a coordinating conjunction that links two independent clauses

Examples:

Incorrect: I cook dinner, and eat at five o’clock. These are not two separate clauses
because they share a subject (I)
Correct: I cook dinner and eat at five o’clock.

Incorrect: She had gone to the office yesterday for help but she was still confused on how to
complete the assignment.

Correct: She had gone to the office yesterday for help, but she was still confused on how to
complete the assignment.

Coordinating Conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (FANBOYS)

2. After a dependent clause that starts a sentence

Examples:

Incorrect: “When questioned by the ship's officers Koistinen initially claimed he had been hit by
a car” (Davies, COCA).

Correct: “When questioned by the ship's officers, Koistinen initially claimed he had been hit by a
car” (Davies, COCA).

Incorrect: “Before the class session in which the speaker was scheduled to lecture each guest
was forwarded the business model canvas and elevator pitch script for each student team”
(Davies, COCA).

Correct: “Before the class session in which the speaker was scheduled to lecture, each guest
was forwarded the business model canvas and elevator pitch script for each student team”
(Davies, COCA).
Appositive= noun or
3. Offset appositives noun phrase that
modifies a noun
Examples:

Incorrect: After that, his paternal grandmother went to live with Brad's older brother Gary in a
suburb of Chicago;

Correct: After that, his paternal grandmother went to live with Brad's older brother, Gary, in a
suburb of Chicago;

Incorrect: She did what she did sometimes when she was alone with Vito the dog snoring on his
cushion near the radiator” (Davies, COCA).
Correct: “She did what she did sometimes when she was alone with Vito, the dog snoring on his
cushion near the radiator” (Davies, COCA).

4. After introductory adverbs

Examples:

Incorrect: Finally we present the findings and conclusions.

Correct: Finally, we present the findings and conclusions.

Incorrect: “Yet as we will demonstrate, victim-facing justifications for punishment are not
applicable to all criminal offenses or instances of criminal misconduct” (Davies, COCA).

Correct: “Yet, as we will demonstrate, victim-facing justifications for punishment are not
applicable to all criminal offenses or instances of criminal misconduct” (Davies, COCA).

5. When introducing textual evidence (before and after)

Examples:

The author demonstrates this when the main character replies, “quote” (citation).

“quote,” is said by the author to demonstrate the naivety of the character (citation).

6. Separate items in a series

Example: When you go to the store, make sure you grab eggs, milk, and yogurt.

7. In an address The last comma

Example: Street Name, Town/City, State, Country before “and” in a
list is called the
8. Dates Oxford Comma
Example: They got married on November 16, 2005. and is optional to
use
9. Yes or no statements
Example: No/Yes, I didn’t/did realize you had already finished your project.

10. Addressing
Example: Esther, please turn off the lights before you leave.

11. Between adjectives modifying the same noun

Example: The fluffy, fat dog was so cute. vs. The very fluffy dog.

12. Numbers- Use a comma for numbers that have three or more digits
Example: 1,132,800
Davies, Mark. (2008-2019) The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA): 560 million words,
1990-present. Available online at https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/.