The comma is a valuable, useful punctuation device because it separates the structural elements of sentences into manageable segments. Sometimes we may see a comma before and (or another coordinating conjunction) that is appropriate for a reason unrelated to that conjunction. As explained in "Commas That Count," the coordinator is a comma that precedes a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) that is joining two independent clauses.

Commas before and That Have Nothing to Do with the Conjunction Per Se. Commas and However This page is about whether to use a semicolon or a comma before however. The last example is not correct because “thus” cannot join two independent clauses. They indicate parenthesis. Overuse of commas, case 1, 12/07/09. The rules provided here are those found in traditional handbooks; however, in certain rhetorical contexts and for specific purposes, these rules may be broken. “Thus” is usually separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, but the commas are often omitted if this would lead to three commas in a row (as in the third example). Lukeman is a literary agent and a writer, and this is his third book on writing. I wouldn’t say overuse, I’d say misuse. By Joan Acocella. That’s because nobody has ever explained to them that a comma is inserted only when a word within a sentence is followed by rising intonation, which is what a comma stands for in written language. Be sure to put the comma before the conjunction, not after it.

Story: A Hero’s Welcome, about a director bringing the musical “Fela!” to Broadway. Here’s a shining example of the “New Yorker Style” (especially with respect to lapsing into commas) this very week. Yes, I would write it with the commas - as I have in my explanation.

Commas reflect the way you would say it, not with pauses necessarily, but a different intonation from the second version. Most people tend to overuse commas, however, so be sure your sentence is truly ripe for misreading before adding a comma in such situations. What My Overuse of Commas Reveals About Me I've been reading the book A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006) and finding it fascinating. For … A Comma before However It is common grammar mistake to use a comma before however when it is being used to merge two sentences into a compound sentence. There are some generally accepted style rules about commas in lists but in terms of overuse, I think it sensible to consider how commas can help you to write in a natural style that sounds more like the ebb and flow of speech.