The Comma

*Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction *And, But, Or, Nor, For, So, Yet *Ex. Robert Frost never finished college, but he became a celebrated poet.

*Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses in a series *Ex. The evenings were cool, calm, and cloudless *Ex. The lights dimmed, the conductor came to the podium, and the band began to play.

*The paired nouns are set off from other nouns or groups of nouns in a series, however. *Ex. The menu at the Italian restaurant included spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti and sausage, baked ziti, and veal and peppers.

*Place a comma between coordinate adjectives that precede a noun *Ex. A tall, hungry, angry bear stood on the trail. *Ex. The weather forecast calls for a hot, dry summer.

* Use commas to set off participles, infinitives, and their phrases if they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. *Ex. The audience, having risen, applauded wildly. *Ex. I remained seated, waiting for the applause to end.

* Use commas to set off a nonessential adjective clause. *Ex. Castroville, which is a city in northern California, is the artichoke capital of the world. * Use commas to set off Interjections, parenthetical expressions, and conjunctive adverbs. *Ex. Well, I do plan to visit Jamaica in July. *Ex. Europe, on the other hand, is one place I will not be going.