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Commas in English

Commas between Main Clauses - Writing English

Use a comma between two main clauses which are separated by and or but.

Example: We ran out of fuel, and the nearest petrol station was 5 miles away.

Use a comma to separate parts of a sentence in a sequence.

Example: She ran down the stairs, opened the door, saw her boyfriend(,) and gave him a kiss.

Dont use a comma if these parts of the sentence are separated by and or but.

Example: She ran down the stairs and opened the door and saw her boyfriend and gave him a kiss.

Note: Dont use a comma, but a semi colon, if two main clauses are not separated by and or but.

Exercise

see also: → Semi Colon between Main Clauses

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