What are four rules for using commas?

Answer 1

Although some of these might seem quite obvious, here are the four main rules that I can think of:

Commas are always used in lists of things.

Example: I like to eat chocolate, steak, pavlova, ice cream and chops.

Commas are either used in lists (like the above example), or when you are saying a sentence and need to pause or take a breath in the middle of it.

Commas always come straight after a word, never a space and then the comma.

Example: word, is correct. word , is not correct.

This is a fairly new rule that was introduced a few years ago, which a lot of people don't actually use:

There is never supposed to be a comma in front of the word 'and', as the word 'and' is supposed to be a pause within itself, although most people do not pay attention to this rule.

Example: I like turtles, dogs, horses, dolphins, and cats. -This sentence would not be 'gramatically correct, although at the moment no one pays much attention to this rule.

I like turtles, dogs, horses, dolphins and cats. -This is the correct way to write it.

Answer 2

1. Use commas to separate items in a list.
2. Use commas after introductory clauses or phrases.
3. Use commas to separate independent clauses when joined by a conjunction.
4. Use commas to set off non-essential information within a sentence.