How to Use Commas in a Sentence
Commas are one of the most ubiquitous forms of punctuation and also one of the most baffling. Almost all writers, from novice to experienced, admit to trouble with commas from time to time. However, the simple rules here will help you out with most comma situations.
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Instructions
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Use commas to separate cities and states and dates and years: Phoenix, Arizona or May 8, 2008.
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Use commas to separate three or more items in a list: I went to the store and bought milk, eggs, cheese and butter.
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Use a comma before a conjunction that joins two independent clauses together. Independent clauses are groups of words that can stand on their own as complete sentences. To put two of them together in one sentence, you need to use a conjunction (i.e., "and" "so" "or"): I was hungry, so I went to the store to buy food. (Notice that "so" is the conjunction joining the two independent clauses together).
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Use a comma after an introductory element that precedes an independent clause. These introductory elements usually start with a conjunction or preposition: Because I was hungry, I went to the store and bought food. In my hunger, I dreamed about eating a steak.
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Use a comma on either side of nonessential information that is embedded in the sentence. In this case, the commas perform a function similar to parentheses, setting off additional information. Notice how you can remove the words between the commas and still have a complete sentence: I went to the store, which was located two miles away, to buy food.
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Tips & Warnings
You do not need to always have a comma before a conjunction, only if the conjunction comes at the end of a list or joins two independent clauses together.
Do not use just a comma to join together two independent clauses. This is called a "comma splice" and causes run-on sentence. Make sure you have a conjunction as well.
