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She hated going to the dentist, and, she cried the whole way there.

So it may no longer share a spot with the question mark, but the comma is still a valuable key to know and use well.

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Wrong: She hated going to the dentist, and, she cried the whole way there.

Why: There's a comma after a conjunction joining two complete sentences.

Right: She hated going to the dentist, and she cried the whole way there.

Why: While a compound sentence, consisting of two complete subject-verb pairs, does need a comma before the conjunction, it does not take one after the conjunction. A conjunction does, however, take a comma afterward if what immediately follows it is a nonessential clause (She hated going to the dentist, and, although she knew it would do no good, she cried the whole way there).

Next, perhaps the most egregious comma error …

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  • 10: In the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy is played by Judy Garland.
  • 9: He was born in January, 1990.
  • 8: 14 January, 1990
  • 7: The president's son was named John F. Kennedy, Jr.
  • 6: Many men want to be the spy, James Bond.
  • 5: Some alcoholic beverages, such as, margaritas and daiquiris, can have as many calories as a burger.
  • 4: She hated going to the dentist, and cried the whole way there.
  • 3: The woman took her son, and her nephew to a course on safe driving.
  • 2: She hated going to the dentist, and, she cried the whole way there.
  • 1: I want to go, I want to stay.
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