Why that Missing Comma Drives Me Crazy
Darkness and the NRSV
In my English classes, I didn’t understand all the rules about when to use a comma and when not to.
But one rule I understood and appreciated was to use a comma when connecting two independent clauses with a conjunction. Here is how Grammarly explains it:
The word and is a conjunction, and when a conjunction joins two independent clauses, you should use a comma with it. The proper place for the comma is before the conjunction. “When to Use a Comma Before And,” Grammarly Blog
An independent clause can function as a complete sentence. Grammarly gives this example.
On Monday we’ll see the Eiffel Tower, and on Tuesday we’ll visit the Louvre.
Notice this sentence contains two independent clauses. You could have written this like, On Monday, we’ll see the Eiffel Tower. On Tuesday we’ll visit the Louvre. There are two independent clauses here because each of them is a complete sentence.
But notice in the example the two independent clauses are connected with a conjunction, and. That is why there is a comma before and. You don’t always need a comma before a conjunction, but you do if the conjunction is connecting two independent clauses.
