- We can go shopping, or we can go see a movie.

If we take out one of the subjects above (in this case, the second "we"), the clause will no longer be independent. Therefore, the conjunction will not need a comma:

- We can go shopping or see a movie.

Other infrequent conjunctions are "so," "for," "nor," and "yet." You might come across the following:

- The line was moving pretty fast, so I did not wait long.

- We couldn't hear the CD, for my player had malfunctioned.

("For" is usually used in place of "because.")

- Changing occupations is difficult, yet I am doing it to make myself happy.

("Yet" is usually used in place of "however.")

When putting two independent sentences together, never use a comma without a coordinating conjunction. This is an illegal move called a comma splice:

- My computer exploded, it had too much software. [Wrong]

You can correct this easily by using either a period or a semicolon:

- My computer exploded. It had too much software.

- My computer exploded; it had too much software.

== Setting Off Words, Phrases, or Clauses ==

Sometimes you may want to expand on your idea, but you do not want to explain it with another full sentence. Introductory words or phrases, also used with commas, can be set apart from the rest of the sentence and are perfect for this scenario:

- If you build it, they will come.

- After my Las Vegas trip, I returned home with a thinner wallet!

- Hey Indiana, Jones is still on the truck.

Consider that last sentence. The writer is addressing Indiana, telling him about someone named Jones. Moving the comma, however, gives the sentence a much different meaning:

- Hey, Indiana Jones is still on the truck.

Non-essential phrases (a.k.a. parenthetical elements) are just like introductory phrases, except that they appear in the middle of a sentence. As the name implies, it is not necessary to the idea; the sentence would have the same meaning if the phrase were not there. Non-essential phrases always have commas at both ends:

- Terrence, who was always looking for treasure, loved to go to the beach.

- The snowfall, which lasted for three days, completely covered my car!

- The case is closed, according to my partner, and will be placed in the archives.

And lastly, concluding words or phrases do the same exact thing, but they are placed - yep, you guessed it - at the end of a sentence, always with a comma:

- He became a firefighter to help people, especially older folks.

- That's a funny situation,

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