Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and I’m back with another pesky grammar question: Should you put a comma before ‘and?’

As with all things English, the answer is ‘it depends.’ In a list, such as ‘eggs, milk, and cheese,’ the comma before the ‘and’ is called the Oxford comma. Most style guides [all the correct ones, anyway] advocate using this comma to reduce confusion, although you can technically leave it off.

In a sentence with a dependent clause, such as ‘I read your note and was delighted to hear the news,’ where there’s no subject for the second verb, you don’t need a comma before ‘and.’ If the clause was independent, meaning that the second half of the sentence could stand alone as a full sentence, you do need the comma. Your sentence would read: “I read your note, and I was delighted to hear the news.”

That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.