When you join with and three or more things, you make a list. Commas keep the things in a list apart: “We packed apples, grapes, and cheese.”
Key idea
Put a comma between the things in a list of three or more.
Why it works
Without commas, “apples grapes and cheese” runs together, and a reader might stumble. The commas are little pauses that show where each thing ends.
Worked example: Two ways, both right
Write a list: red, blue, green (my favorite colors).
- Put a comma after red and after blue.
- Some writers also put one before and: “red, blue, and green.”
- Others leave it out: “red, blue and green.” Both ways are used.
Answer: “My favorite colors are red, blue, and green.” or “…red, blue and green.”
Worked example: Only two things
“I like apples and grapes.”
- Two things joined by and are not a list of three.
- No comma is needed.
Answer: “I like apples and grapes.”
Common mistake
Putting a comma after every word (“We, packed, apples…”), or between just two things joined by and. Commas go between the things in a list of three or more.
For the grown-up. The comma before and in a list is called the serial comma. Many book publishers and school style guides use it; most newspapers leave it out. Neither is wrong, so let your child choose one way and use it every time.