Spelling & punctuation Essential punctuation rules
Commas in English are often used more to organize blocks of thought rather than following strict rules. But there are some:
When making a list, commas are used to separate one item from the next, also before the final "and" or "or":
Hats, pipes, and other possessions.
You use commas to enclose non-defining relative clauses and other non-essential details and comments:
Sherlock, who was born in Britain, liked sandwiches. However, they were not his favourite food.
No comma before "that":
I think that's easy.
We use hyphens in many compound adjectives:
computer-generated, good-looking, ...
There are no strict rules for most compound nouns:
paper clip / paper-clip / paperclip
→ if in doubt, use a hyphen.
We use an apostrophe to show possession:
Sherlock's favourite tea.
If the name ends with an -s we normally just add an apostrophe:
Holmes' friend Watson.
If the possession relates to a plural noun that ends in -s, we add an apostrophe after the -s:
a few months' time, the fans' website, ...
Don't mix up "it's", the short form for "it is" with "its", the possessiv pronoun.