Unnecessary Commas

Unnecessary CommasPayton Hoover and Cassidy Rosilio

Although a comma ordinarily signals a pause, not every pause calls for a comma.

Commas dontseparate a subject and its verb or a verb and its subjectEx: Rain at frequent intervals, can produce mosquitoes. follow coordinating conjunctions(and, but, for, nor, or, so, or yet)Commas immediately precede them only when the conjunctions link independent clauses.Ex: He parked the car, and closed the garage door. (separation of compound verbs)

Commas dontset off restrictive (essential) clauses, phrases, or appositivesEx: Everyone, who has a mortgage, is required to have fire insurance.Ex: The spectators watched two skaters, dressed in identical clack uniforms, battle for the puck.precede the first item of a series or follow the last (including the last of a series of coordinate adjectives)Ex: She was supposed to eat lots of vegetables, such as, broccoli, peas, and green beans.

Commas doset off words and short phrases only if they are clearly parentheticalParenthetical words and phrases are those that are nonessentialsuch as asides or interpolations.Ex: Zoe was born, in Chicago in 1985.Ex: Perhaps, the thermostat is not set correctly.