Commas followed by 'and'

[geoffsx]

Could you explain, please, when it is correct to use 'and' after a comma.
Regards,

[Tdol]

This is the Oxford Comma, so-called because the Oxford University Press uses it. Some people argue that it is unnecessary and others that it is essential, so there's no clear answer. here's a good example of where it makes sense to use it:
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/as...ma-before.html

[crf07796]

I think this might answer the question above. Though the title of this thread should say "Commas before conjunctions." The following information is from William Strunk and E.B. White's Elements of Style, and they address this question precisely. I strongly recommend this book to any one interested in the English language. You can read it online at Strunk, William, Jr. 1918. The Elements of Style . This is where I got the information below. Let me know if this helps.

Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause.

The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.

Sentences of this type, isolated from their context, may seem to be in need of rewriting. As they make complete sense when the comma is reached, the second clause has the appearance of an after-thought. Further, and, is the least specific of connectives. Used between independent clauses, it indicates only that a relation exists between them without defining that relation. In the example above, the relation is that of cause and result. The two sentences might be rewritten:

As the early records of the city have disappeared, the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
Although the situation is perilous, there is still one chance of escape.

Or the subordinate clauses might be replaced by phrases:

Owing to the disappearance of the early records of the city, the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
In this perilous situation, there is still one chance of escape.

But a writer may err by making his sentences too uniformly compact and periodic, and an occasional loose sentence prevents the style from becoming too formal and gives the reader a certain relief. Consequently, loose sentences of the type first quoted are common in easy, unstudied writing. But a writer should be careful not to construct too many of his sentences after this pattern (see Rule 14).

Two-part sentences of which the second member is introduced by as (in the sense of because), for, or, nor, and while (in the sense of and at the same time) likewise require a comma before the conjunction.

If a dependent clause, or an introductory phrase requiring to be set off by a comma, precedes the second independent clause, no comma is needed after the conjunction.

The situation is perilous, but if we are prepared to act promptly, there is still one chance of escape.

For two-part sentences connected by an adverb, see the next section.