Here is a comma separating an aside:
The face being breathtaking and divine has nothing to do with it being itchy, so the clause is nonessential.
—SamanthaIncorrect: My face which has been called “breathtaking” and “divine” by a
number of reputable sources is very itchy.
Correct: My face, which has been called “breathtaking” and “divine” by a
number of reputable sources, is very itchy.
*I didn’t know this until I was sixteen. I know adults who still do not know this.
—Samantha
What we are calling “asides” are technically called nonrestrictive clauses,
which just means “information that is not essential to the sentence.” One tricky
rule to remember with commas is that a restrictive clause, or information that is
necessary to the meaning of the sentence, is not separated by commas. Check it
out.
Incorrect: People, who are easily nauseated, should not try Paul’s cooking.
Correct: People who are easily nauseated should not try Paul’s cooking.
That phrase “who are easily nauseated” seems like it might be an aside. But if
we take it out, the sentence drastically changes its meaning (“People should not
try my cooking”). So we do not use commas! Nor do we eat Paul’s cooking!
Next, here is a comma separating the elements in a list:Incorrect: I enjoy French films, French cheese and crackers.
Correct: I enjoy French films, French cheese, and crackers.
Read this sentence aloud. Do you pause after “cheese”? Yes. Use a comma.
—Samantha
The comma before the last element in that list is called the serial comma. (It’s
also known as the Oxford comma.) Some people use it, and some people don’t.
The SAT does! And it uses it for a good reason. In the above sentence, the first,
wrong sentence could mean French cheese and French crackers, because there is