Commas with Items in a series and with
Two Adjectives Modifying theSame Noun
Commas with items in a series
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When you have three items in a series, use commas to set off each of the items. The items can be words, phrases, or clauses. The following examples show the use of commas in a series:
A Series of Words
Jordan, Stackhouse, and Hughes were disappointed with the loss to the Knicks.
Mr. Green, Ms. Seavey, and Ms. Bicknell teach English 9 on odd days, and Ms. Waterfall, Ms. MacLean, and Ms. Nelson teach English 9 on even days.
Ruth plays field hockey, basketball, and soccer.
A Series of Phrases
Michael Jordan enjoys playing basketball, hitting golf balls, and watching baseball.
Cinderella washes the floor in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening.
We looked for Darren in the auditorium lobby, in the main gym, and under the cafeteria tables.
A Series of Clauses
Miranda gets very thirsty when she plays tennis, when she races her brother, and when she sleeps in the desert.
You may visit the gift shop when we arrive at the park, after we hike to the ruins, or before we leave.
I want to thank you for coming, I hope you have a lovely time, and I want you to leave by 3:30.
(Note: "I want to thank you for coming, I hope you have a lovely time" is a run on sentence. When you add the third clause, though, the sentence becomes a series of independent clauses.)
Must you use a comma before the conjunction in a series of items?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: You may be wondering about the comma before the conjunction. Isn't it optional you ask?? Well, it depends on whom you ask. The Gregg Reference Manual recommends always putting a comma before the last item in a series, even if a conjunction is used. My 1973 issue of Warriner's English Grammar and Composition says "It is permissible to omit the comma before the and joining the last two items in a series if the comma is not needed to make the meaning clear." Writers Inc. recommends using a comma before the conjunction and makes no mention of an exception. I've noticed that the Washington Post routinely omits the comma before the conjunction. The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style sheds some light on the question. The Penguin Dictionary claims that newspapers omit the comma before the conjunction but books use the comma. The Penguin Dictionary goes on to recommend the use of the comma before the conjunction because "A comma and a conjunction have different functions. A comma separates items; a conjunction joins them." Based on the recommendations of The Gregg Reference Manual and The Penguin Dictionary of American English, we're going to use the comma before the conjunction in a series of items.
Exceptions and Curiosities
When a conjunction appears before each item in the series, use no commas. The following sentences show examples of items in a series joined by conjunctions rather than commas:
A Series of Words
Jordan and Stackhouse and Hughes were disappointed with the loss to the Knicks.
Mr. Green and Ms. Seavey and Ms. Bicknell teach English 9 on odd days, and Ms. Waterfall and Ms. MacLean and Ms. Nelson teach English 9 on even days.
Ruth plays field hockey and basketball and soccer.
A Series of Phrases
Michael Jordan enjoys playing basketball and hitting golf balls and watching baseball.
Cinderella washes the floor in the morning and in the afternoon and in the evening.
We looked for Darren in the auditorium lobby and in the main gym and under the cafeteria tables.
A Series of Clauses
Miranda gets very thirsty when she plays tennis and when she races her brother and when she sleeps in the desert.
You may visit the gift shop when we arrive at the park or after we hike to the ruins or before we leave.
I want to thank you for coming and I hope you have a lovely time and I want you to leave by 3:30.
If some of the items in a series are joined by a conjunction because they go together, don't use a comma. The following sentences show this principle at work:
For the picnic, we made ham, Spam, peanut butter and jelly, and pickle sandwiches.
For the picnic, we made ham, Spam, peanut butter, and jelly and pickle sandwiches.
Note: Shifting the comma changes the sandwiches from "peanut butter and jelly" to "jelly and pickle." In the second sentence, there is a comma before the conjunction before the final item in the series. The final item in the series has an "and" within.
Commas with Two Adjectives Modifying the Same Noun
When two adjectives modify the same noun, you'll often need to use a comma to separate the two adjectives. The following sentences provide examples of this situation:
The tall, awkward boy and the short, graceful teacher argued heatedly about the Knicks game.
Her mother thinks of her as a disorganized, chatty child, but she thinks of herself as an artistic, articulate adult.
Exception!!!
If the second adjective and the noun can be thought of as a single unit, don't use a comma to separate the adjectives. In the sentence "The new brick wall fell over in the first significant storm," you wouldn't use a comma between "new" and "brick" because new modifies "brick wall." The Gregg Reference Manual suggests a useful test for this sort of situation. Try putting the adjectives in a relative clause after the noun. "The wall which was new and brick" doesn’t read smoothly or logically. Therefore, don't use a comma. The boy who was tall and awkward . . . " does read smoothly and logically. Therefore, use a comma.
A final note on items in a series
Try to keep the items in the series parallel, all words or all phrases or all clauses. Confusion can result from mixing types of items.