<p>Hi, I'm preparing to take the ACT and SAT and I just would life to clarify something that has been bothering me of late. Commas.</p>
<p>More specifically using commas with the word "and"</p>
<p>In elementary I was taught to use commas in the following way:</p>
<p>Brasil is extremely hot, wet and filled with delicious P</p>
<p>When you are using the commas in a series of more than two items, you place the comma between the items to substitute for the word ‘and’ as in : ‘stars, planets and suns’.
If you think of the comma as replacing ‘and’, then you will see that you do not want a comma between the last two items lest you end with a structure that suggests ‘stars and planets and and suns’.</p>
<p>On the other hand, when the word ‘and’ joins two main clauses in a compound sentence, then you do use a comma with the clause as in : ‘I ran to the back of the house, and I saw the car pull away down the alley’. In fact, you use commas to separate almost all kinds of clauses in a sentence under most circumstances. (Noun clauses and restrictive adjective clauses are the exceptions.)</p>
<p>Warning: Do not use a comma by itself to separate main clauses as in: 'I ran to the back of the house, I saw the car pull away …" The comma by itself is an error called a ‘comma splice’. If you want to join MAIN clauses without a conjunction, the correct punctuation mark to use is a colon ( ; ). There is an exception to this rule that says that if the clauses are very short, a comma may be used, as in : “I came, I saw, I conquered.”</p>
<p>What the OP is discussing is whether a specific type of comma, called “The Oxford Comma” (also known as the “serial comma”), is necessary or superfluous. I contend that while is sometimes is not needed when constructing a list of items in a sentence, its use can avoid potential ambiguities. </p>
<p>Compare the following two sentences, the first uses the Oxford Comma, the second does not:</p>
<p>“Among the invited guests were the strippers, George Bush, and Dick Cheney.”
“Among the invited guests were the strippers, George Bush and Dick Cheney.”</p>
<p>Without the Oxford Comma, George Bush and Dick Cheney are the strippers (perish the thought!). The use of the Oxford Comma, in contrast, makes it clear that both George Bush and Dick Cheney were invited guests, along with some strippers.</p>
<p>When in doubt, use it. While it is sometimes unnecessary, is never incorrect to use it.</p>
<p>This is unrelated, but commas are not tested on the SAT.</p>
<p>There’s never a grammer cop around when you need one.</p>
<p>Thank you, Bard. That one got by me.</p>
<p>Commas are definitely tested on the ACT. I could be mistaken, but I don’t think they will throw in questions about the “series comma” because of the confusion and debate over the proper use of them. So, I would focus on other comma rules and not stress about that one.</p>