Does a comma go before the word and in a list?

Does a comma go before the word and in a list?

There’s no single rule that applies to all situations. You usually put a comma before and when it’s connecting two independent clauses. It’s almost always optional to put a comma before and in a list.

When listing things do you use a comma?

When making a list, commas are the most common way to separate one list item from the next. The final two items in the list are usually separated by “and” or “or”, which should be preceeded by a comma. Amongst editors this final comma in a list is known as the “Oxford Comma”.

How do you use commas in a list example?

Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more items. Example: My estate goes to my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and nephew. Note: 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.

Do you put a comma before since example?

We usually put a comma before since after the main clause: [result]I hope they’ve decided to come as [reason]I wanted to hear about their India trip. [result]They’re rather expensive, since [reason]they’re quite hard to find. We often use as and since clauses at the beginning of the sentence.

When listing three things do you use a comma?

Oxford Comma (The Quick Answer) An Oxford Comma is a comma used before the last list item in a list of three or more items. When there are three or more list items, then those following “US convention” should use a comma (often called an Oxford Comma) with the conjunction (usually “and” or “or”).

How do you list items in a sentence?

Use lowercase for the text of in-sentence lists items, except when regular capitalization rules require caps. Punctuate the in-sentence list items with commas if they are not complete sentences; with semicolons, if they are complete sentences. Use the same spacing for in-sentence lists as in regular non-list text.

Should I add a comma before as?

In many sentences, if there is no comma before as, then as means “in the way that” or “while.” When you insert a comma before as, its meaning changes to “because.” Writers tend to make this mistake when forming sentences in which as separates two independent clauses. Below is an example of such a sentence.

How do you punctuate a list of items?

To separate the items in a list. Punctuation is used to separate the items in the list. The usual way of doing this is to place a comma after each item in the list: The school has a vegetable garden in which the children grow cabbages, onions, potatoes, and carrots.

When to use a comma in a list?

Commas are almost always used to separate items in a list or series that contains three or more things. More specifically, some lists contain a comma that’s known as the Oxford comma. This punctuation sits immediately after the list’s next-to-last item, just before the and or the or .

When do you put a comma before and in a sentence?

Real-time suggestions, wherever you write. 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. You usually put a comma before and when it’s connecting two independent clauses. It’s almost always optional to put a comma before and in a list.

When do you put a semicolon before a comma?

In sentences with list items that contain commas themselves, the items should be separated by semicolons, and there should be a semicolon before “and.” This is necessary for clarity. She needed a tent, preferably waterproof; a pair of hiking boots, size eight; and a portable cooking stove, one with gas canisters.

When to use an Oxford comma before a conjunction?

Beware Confusion with an Oxford Comma Commas can be used to introduce additional information (called parenthesis). So, when a comma is used before a conjunction in a list, it could make the list item before the comma look like a parenthesis. That said, the Oxford Comma is not usually accused of creating ambiguity.