Comma Coma #8: Conjunctivitis

Conjunctions (and, but, as, or nor, yet) join things.

Sometimes conjunctions join two complete sentences.  Each sentence has a subject and a verb.  Here are two of my student's sentences:

• "I'd like to be better at communicating clearly with my family."
• "I am the only person in my family who has ever been to graduate school."

Where should Batman add commas?

If you wish to join these two sentences, put a comma before the conjunction:  "I'd like to be better at communicating clearly with my family, as I am the only person in my family who has ever been to graduate school."

Another student wrote

• I don't think my nervousness is something I can easily control.
• I just wish I could find a way to stop thinking about it and be confident in what I am saying.

Join the sentences with "but" and you have this:  "I don't think my nervousness is something I can easily control, but I wish I could find a way to stop thinking about it and be confident in what I am saying."  Add a comma before the conjunction when joining two complete sentences.

Notice there is no comma between "and" and "be confident."  If the author had added "I wish I could" after "and" then there would be two complete sentences joined by a conjunction and the comma after "and" would be required:  ". . . but I wish I could find a way to stop thinking about it, and I wish I could be confident in what I am saying." 

Where should Batman have added commas?

Answer

Add a comma before each "and."