Let's just get this cleared up early.
Summary of Commas
There are four types of comma: the
listing comma, the
joining comma, the
gapping comma and
bracketing commas.
A listing comma can always be replaced by the word
and or
or:
Vanessa seems to live on eggs, pasta and aubergines.
Vanessa seems to live on eggs and pasta and aubergines.
Choose an article from the
Guardian, the
Independent or the
Times.
Choose an article from the
Guardian or the
Independent or the
Times.
Stanley was an energetic, determined and even ruthless figure.
Stanley was an an energetic and determined and even ruthless figure.
A joining comma must be followed by one of the connecting words
and,
or,
but,
yet or
while:
The report was due last week, but it hasn't appeared yet.
The motorways in France and Spain are toll roads, while those in Britain are free.
A gapping comma indicates that you have decided not to repeat some words which have already occurred in the sentence:
Jupiter is the largest planet and Pluto, the smallest.
Bracketing commas always come in pairs, unless one of them would come at the beginning or the end of the sentence, and they always set off a weak interruption which could in principle be removed from the sentence:
My father, who hated cricket, always refused to watch me play.
We have a slight problem, to put it mildly.
If you're not sure about your commas, you can check them by using these rules. Ask yourself these questions:
1. Can the comma be replaced by
and or
or?
2. Is it followed by one of the connecting words
and,
or,
but,
yet or
while?
3. Does it represent the absence of repetition?
4. Does it form one of a pair of commas setting off an interruption which could be removed from the sentence?
There is a fifth use of the comma in the song "Handyman" (sung to the choreography of "the swim.")