This page reflects guidance from the sixth edition of the Publication Manual.
This page reflects guidance from the sixth edition of the Publication Manual.
between elements (including before and and or) in a series of three or more items.
to set off a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause, that is, a clause that embellishes a sentence but if removed would leave the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence intact.
to separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction.
to set off the year in exact dates.
but
to set off the year in parenthetical reference citations
to separate groups of three digits in most numbers of 1,000 or more
before an essential or restrictive clause, that is, a clause that limits or defines the material it modifies. Removal of such a clause from the sentence would alter the intended meaning.
between two parts of a compound predicate
to separate parts of measurement
(adapted from the sixth edition of the APA Publication Manual, © 2010)