When should I use commas?
- To divide all of the elements on a list, including the last one.
Tomatoes, lettuce, and oranges
- After using an introductory phrase
At the beginning of the year, we shared our goals and dreams.
*In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
*note: you may avoid this comma when using short phrases
- When writing a nonrestrictive or nonessential clause–this is a clause that does not affect the meaning of a sentence
In the beginning, when everything was chaos, God created the heavens and the earth.
- To join two independent clauses with a conjunction.
The people who lived in darkness saw a great light, and that light was the life of man.
- To separate the year from the month on a retrieval date
Retrieved June 30, 2023, from
† In June 2023
† Avoid this comma when you do not have the exact day.
- In parenthetical in text citation
(Robertson, 2023, p. 22)
- Numerical values of three digits
2,400
When should I not use commas?
- When writing a restrictive or essential clause. This means a clause that will affect the meaning of a sentence
The people who lived in darkness saw a great light.
- with a compound predicate
The people ate and got up to do evil
- To separate measurements
2 min 5 seconds
6 ft 9 in.
2 years and 5 months
Adapted from: (APA, 2020, pp. 155-156)
Exercise
Sources
The American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th edition
