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Note on usage This tends to be more applicable in American English, though it is
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Often, as editors and writers, we join sentences together with the word "and". However, frequently I see commas placed before the word "and" when it isn't warranted as well as sentences that need this comma.
I raise this issue enough at GAN to make an explainer page. The sentences are from articles I've reviewed at GAN.
The trick is to split the sentence by removing the "and". If you have two separate standalone sentences, you need a comma.
For instance, take this from a GA I reviewed:
We get two sentences:
Each of these sentences has a subject and a verb: "circle / was made" and "church / was built". Thus, when combined, they need to either have ", and" or a semicolon between them.
This also works the other way. Here's a sentence from another GA:
If we split this sentence that has ", and" as a linkage, we get:
The second portion lacks a subject and is not a complete sentence. Thus, if you do not wish to add a subject to the second portion, you leave out the comma.
This is also the case for "but":
If we split this sentence, we get the missing-subject fragment emerged as serious rivals to the Chargers in the AFL West during Davis's first season there.. To correct this, we simply remove the comma (or add a subject, as in #2—note the bolded addition):
Of course, sometimes balanced comma considerations require a comma even when its placement would otherwise not be called for. These are correct:
You'll note that "signed on that August" and "before moving to Albuquerque" are not separate sentences. However, MOS:DATECOMMA requires that we have a comma to balance the appositive contained in "1960", and MOS:GEOCOMMA orders the comma after "New Mexico".