{"id":4547,"date":"2026-09-14T15:08:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westcoastenglish.ch\/?p=4547"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:19:51","slug":"how-to-use-commas-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westcoastenglish.ch\/de\/2026\/09\/14\/how-to-use-commas-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Commas in English, PART TWO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Commas are back!<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>Part One<\/b>, we looked at how commas help us add extra information to the \u201cheart\u201d of a sentence. If you survived all that, congratulations! Now we can move on to some of the more everyday places where these tricky little punctuation marks appear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, let\u2019s look at <\/span>commas in lists, commas between adjectives, and commas in letters and emails.<\/b><\/p>\n

The good news? It\u2019s much easier than the rules in Part One!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
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Let’s break this down and look at it from each angle.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Commas in lists<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Let\u2019s start with the easy one.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you have a list of three or more things, use commas to separate the items.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • I bought <\/span>bread, cheese, tomatoes and chocolate<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • For our trip, we need <\/span>towels, sunscreen, sunglasses and snacks<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • My children spend most of their free time <\/span>eating, sleeping, complaining and asking me for money<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Easy enough, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Normally, we don\u2019t put a comma between the final two items because they are already joined by <\/span>und<\/b> or <\/span>or<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    But wait! <\/span>What about the Oxford comma?<\/b><\/p>\n

    You may have seen sentences like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • I bought <\/span>bread, cheese, tomatoes, and chocolate<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      See that extra comma before <\/span>und<\/b>?<\/span><\/p>\n

      This is called the <\/span>Oxford comma<\/b> (or serial comma).<\/span><\/p>\n

      And here comes the slightly annoying part: <\/span>it is optional<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Some style guides use it, while others don’t. It is especially common in American English, but that doesn’t mean every American uses it.<\/span><\/p>\n

      So these can both be correct:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      • We invited <\/span>Sarah, Mark and James<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • We invited <\/span>Sarah, Mark, and James<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        My advice? Pick a style and try to be consistent.<\/span><\/p>\n

        There is one situation, though, where that little Oxford comma can be extremely useful: <\/span>when your sentence could otherwise be confusing<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Imagine you write:<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • At the party, I talked to <\/span>my neighbours, a doctor and a magician<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Hmm. Are your neighbours a doctor and a magician? Or did you talk to your neighbours AND a doctor AND a magician?<\/span><\/p>\n

          Adding the final comma makes it clearer:<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          • At the party, I talked to <\/span>my neighbours, a doctor, and a magician<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Now we know there were at least four people involved in this very interesting party.<\/span><\/p>\n

            So, even if you don’t normally use the Oxford comma, sometimes it can save your sentence!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

            \n\t\t\t\t
            \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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            \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
            \n\t\t\t\t
            \n\t\t\t\t\t

            Commas between adjectives<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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            Okay, this one is a little trickier.<\/span><\/p>\n

            Sometimes we use two or more adjectives before a noun:<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • She has a <\/span>beautiful old house<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
            • He bought an <\/span>expensive Italian car<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
            • We carried a <\/span>large, heavy suitcase<\/b> upstairs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Wait a minute. Why does <\/span>large, heavy suitcase<\/b> have a comma, but <\/span>beautiful old house<\/b> doesn’t?<\/span><\/p>\n

              The answer depends on whether the adjectives are doing the <\/span>same job<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

              When adjectives are equal, use a comma<\/b><\/h3>\n

              If two adjectives describe the noun independently and are equally important, put a comma between them.<\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              • It was a <\/span>cold, rainy day<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
              • She is a <\/span>friendly, intelligent woman<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
              • We had a <\/span>long, difficult meeting<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
              • He gave me a <\/span>strange, uncomfortable look<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                There’s a handy little test you can use.<\/span><\/p>\n

                Try putting <\/span>und<\/b> between the adjectives:<\/span><\/p>\n

                a cold <\/span>und<\/b> rainy day<\/span><\/p>\n

                Sounds fine!<\/span><\/p>\n

                Now try reversing them:<\/span><\/p>\n

                a rainy, cold day<\/span><\/p>\n

                Still basically works.<\/span><\/p>\n

                That’s a good sign that you need a comma.<\/span><\/p>\n

                When adjectives work together, don’t use a comma<\/b><\/h3>\n

                Now look at this:<\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • She is a <\/span>beautiful old woman<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Would you normally say:<\/span><\/p>\n

                  a beautiful <\/span>und<\/b> old woman?<\/span><\/p>\n

                  Maybe, but it sounds strange.<\/span><\/p>\n

                  And:<\/span><\/p>\n

                  an old beautiful woman<\/span><\/p>\n

                  Maybe, but it still feels wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

                  That’s because \u201c<\/span>old woman\u201d<\/b> works together as a unit, and <\/span>beautiful<\/span><\/i> describes that whole idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

                  The same thing happens here:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • an <\/span>expensive Italian restaurant<\/b><\/li>\n
                  • a <\/span>small wooden table<\/b><\/li>\n
                  • a <\/span>beautiful red dress<\/b><\/li>\n
                  • a <\/span>new electric car<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    We don’t normally put commas between these adjectives.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    You definitely don’t need to memorise a giant chart showing which type of adjective comes before which other type. (Unless memorising giant grammar charts is your idea of a fun Friday night.)<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Instead, remember the <\/span>AND test<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    If you can naturally put <\/span>und<\/b> between the adjectives, a comma probably belongs there.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    A quiet, peaceful village.<\/b>
                    <\/b>A quiet <\/span>und<\/b> peaceful village. \u2713<\/span><\/p>\n

                    A beautiful Swiss village.<\/b>
                    <\/b>A beautiful <\/span>und<\/b> Swiss village. Hmm…no.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    No comma!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                    Commas in letters and emails<\/span><\/span>
                    <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    Finally, let’s look at a place where I see comma confusion all the time: <\/span>emails<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    After the greeting<\/b><\/h3>\n

                    In an informal email or letter, you can put a comma after the person’s name:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Hi Peter,<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Thanks for your message. I was wondering\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Or:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Dear Grandma,<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Thanks for the birthday money. I definitely won’t spend all of it on pizza.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    In more formal correspondence, conventions can vary between British and American English and between organisations. You may see:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Dear Mr Smith,<\/span><\/p>\n

                    or simply:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Dear Mr Smith<\/span><\/p>\n

                    (You may even see a colon in formal American business writing:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

                    Dear Mr Smith:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

                    But I think this is too far.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

                    So don’t panic if you see different versions. Email punctuation isn’t quite as universal as your English teacher may have made you believe.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    The most important thing is to <\/span>follow the style normally used in your organisation<\/b> and be consistent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                    After your closing<\/b><\/h3>\n

                    We also normally use a comma after a closing phrase – it depends on what we did at the beginning. <\/span>If you use a comma after the greeting \u2192 use a comma after the closing.<\/b><\/p>\n

                    Dear Thomas,<\/span><\/p>\n

                    .\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Kind regards,<\/span>
                    <\/span>Mary<\/span><\/p>\n

                    OR<\/b><\/p>\n

                    Dear Norbert <\/span>(no comma)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

                    \u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Best wishes <\/span>(no comma)<\/span><\/i>
                    <\/span>Mary<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Notice that you <\/span>don’t need another comma after your name<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                    One more important email mistake<\/b><\/h2>\n

                    While we’re talking about emails, here’s something I often see:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Hello Peter,<\/span><\/p>\n

                    thank you<\/b> for your email.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    If you’re starting a new sentence after the greeting, <\/span>Thank<\/b> needs a capital T.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    The greeting isn’t the beginning of that sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    So write:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Hello Peter,<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Thank you<\/b> for your email.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    This isn’t technically a comma rule, but since we’re here, why not?!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

                    \n\t\t\t\t
                    \n\t\t\t\t\t

                    When you \"say\" someone's name in the sentence<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    Remember this rule from Part One?<\/span><\/p>\n

                    If you “speak” directly to someone (including yourself) in your writing and use a name, separate the name with a comma.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Peter,<\/b> could you send me the document?<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Thanks for your help, <\/span>Anna<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Could you please check this, <\/span>David,<\/b> before you leave?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      That last example looks strange to some learners, but the commas are correct. <\/span>David<\/span><\/i> is an interruption in the main sentence:<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Could you please check this before you leave?<\/span><\/p>\n

                      The sentence works perfectly without his name, so we use commas around it.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

                      \n\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t\t

                      So, what do you need to remember?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

                      If all these commas are starting to swim around in your head, focus on these three ideas:<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Lists:<\/b> Use commas to separate three or more items. The final comma before <\/span>und<\/span><\/i> is the optional Oxford comma\u2014but use it when it makes your meaning clearer.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Adjectives:<\/b> If the adjectives could naturally be joined with <\/span>und<\/b>, you probably need a comma: <\/span>a long, difficult day<\/span><\/i>. If they work together in a natural order, you usually don’t: <\/span>a beautiful old house<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Emails and letters:<\/b> You can choose: use a comma after the greeting AND after the closing, or use NO commas after the greeting and closing. But remember to use commas when you write the person\u2019s name in a sentence to get their attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      And most importantly, remember what we learned in Part One: commas aren’t just random little marks your English teacher throws into sentences to make your life difficult. They help your reader understand <\/span>which words belong together, where one idea ends, and where the next one begins<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Once you start thinking about commas that way, they become much less mysterious.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Well, <\/span>slightly<\/b> less mysterious.<\/span><\/p>\n

                      English is still English.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      When should you use commas? When should you absolutely NOT use them? Finally understand the point of commas and how to use them correctly. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,62,64],"tags":[107,106,105,79,104],"class_list":["post-4547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exams","category-grammar","category-writing","tag-comma","tag-commas","tag-grammar","tag-learn-english","tag-punctuation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t