Comma Before or After And | Correct Use & Examples

Published on June 27, 2024 by Eoghan Ryan, MA Revised on February 18, 2025

Put a comma before “and” when it’s used to connect two independent clauses. An independent clause contains both a subject and a verb and can function as a standalone sentence.

Comma before and connecting two independent clause examples
Andy cooks dinner, and Dana cleans the house.

However, no comma should be used when “and” connects two verbs with the same subject. In the following example, the subject, Peter, performs both actions (working and sleeping).

And connecting two verbs with one subject example
Peter works at night and sleeps during the day.
These rules also apply to using commas with the coordinating conjunctions “or” and “but.”

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What Is the Oxford Comma, and When Should You Use It?

Published on June 26, 2024 by Hannah Skaggs Revised on March 21, 2025

The Oxford comma appears just before and or or in a sentence that lists three or more items.

We can buy two pies, one cake, or eight donuts.

The sentence above shows an Oxford comma example: it’s the comma after cake. This punctuation mark is also called the Harvard comma or the serial comma, which makes sense because it separates items in a series.

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Comma Before or After However | Explanation & Examples

Published on June 5, 2024 by Tom Challenger, BA Revised on January 13, 2025

When the word however is used to mean “but”, it is functioning as a conjunctive adverb.

To decide how to use commas with however when it is used like this, you need to think about its position in the sentence or clause.

Examples: Comma before or after however
Start of sentence/clause Inflation is relatively high. However, other economic signs are positive.
Inflation is relatively high; however, other economic signs are positive.
Middle of sentence/clause Inflation is relatively high. Other economic signs, however, are positive.
End of sentence/clause Inflation is relatively high. Other economic signs are positive, however.
Note
We have to think about similar considerations to decide whether to use a comma before “which,” a comma before “such as,” and a comma before “too.”

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