People sometimes make punctuation mistakes because they don’t type the way they speak. Here’s an example:

[The view from the rear of the property] displays the canopy of a 150-year-old, live-oak forest.

— “Killingsworth ‘Case Study’ home in Piedmont,” sfgate.com June 10, 2011

That comma is as incorrect as it would be in this parallel sentence: “I saw an old, oak tree.”

Punctuation should often reflect the patterns in how we speak. You wouldn’t pause between the adjectives if you said the words “old oak tree” out loud.

By speaking sentences out loud and trusting your ear, you can usually avoid these kinds of incorrect commas in your own writing.

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Write It Well’s e-learning module Just Commas covers everything business writers need to know to use commas correctly.

Our new book Essential Grammar includes a full chapter on commas. The book is a thorough review of the fundamental grammar you need to project a credible, professional image through your writing.

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