when I learnt this at school my teacher told not to put a comma before "and"

Your teacher was right. She (he) was teaching you to punctuate a list according to one of the acceptable and grammatical patterns. The OTHER acceptable and grammatical patter, known as the Oxford comma, is the one that you were NOT being taught. Both are acceptable and grammatical. Just choose which pattern you're going to use, and use it consistently from the beginning to the end of the book you're writing. You may change to the other for your next book, but should be consistent within any single publication.

why is there comma after pickles?

it is because when there is and you must put a comma in front of and (depending of the sentence).

Don't worry about the squid pickles, it's just a food he possibly likes.

do we need to keep a comma right before "and"

No, we don't "need" it. It's optional. But, if you're writing an essay and you choose to use it, be consistent all the way to the end of the essay. If you don't use it, be consistent and don't use it all the way to the end of the essay.

where else can you use commas?

It appears that you skipped a lesson. Do this one, it should answer all of your questions. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-comma-and-the-apostrophe/introduction-to-commas/e/meet-the-comma

When David puts a comma in front of AND in the list,was the word AND something I need to get in the grocery store? It's unlikely. cuz' and isn't a food..

"_And_" isn't an object; it's a conjunction. There's a video here, "coordinating conjunctions", that can explain better than I ever could. Here, "_and_" is used to show that chocolate is part of the list.

Do you always need a comma after the last thing on your list?

No, as far as I know you never use a comma after the sentence ends, you use a period.

Main content

Course: Grammar > Unit 6

Lesson 1: Introduction to commas

Punctuating lists

Name: Punctuating lists
Uploaded: 2016-06-06T23:42:47Z
Description: Learn how to use commas to punctuate a written list of people, things, actions, or events.

Google Classroom

Learn how to use commas to punctuate a written list of people, things, actions, or events.

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Adithya
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Adithya's post “when I learnt this at sch...”
when I learnt this at school my teacher told not to put a comma before "and"
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(20 votes)
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- David Alexander
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Your teacher was right. S...”
  Your teacher was right. She (he) was teaching you to punctuate a list according to one of the acceptable and grammatical patterns. The OTHER acceptable and grammatical patter, known as the Oxford comma, is the one that you were NOT being taught. Both are acceptable and grammatical. Just choose which pattern you're going to use, and use it consistently from the beginning to the end of the book you're writing. You may change to the other for your next book, but should be consistent within any single publication.
  Comment on David Alexander's post “Your teacher was right. S...”
  (39 votes)
vikram
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to vikram's post “why is there comma after ...”
why is there comma after pickles?
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(13 votes)
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- matthew80365
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to matthew80365's post “it is because when there ...”
  it is because when there is and you must put a comma in front of and (depending of the sentence).
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  (6 votes)
Ibrahim Dar
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Ibrahim Dar's post “do we need to keep a comm...”
do we need to keep a comma right before "and"
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(8 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “No, we don't "need" it. I...”
  No, we don't "need" it. It's optional. But, if you're writing an essay and you choose to use it, be consistent all the way to the end of the essay. If you don't use it, be consistent and don't use it all the way to the end of the essay.
  Comment on David Alexander's post “No, we don't "need" it. I...”
  (10 votes)
daberechi
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to daberechi's post “where else can you use co...”
where else can you use commas?
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(7 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “It appears that you skipp...”
  It appears that you skipped a lesson.
  Do this one, it should answer all of your questions.
  https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-comma-and-the-apostrophe/introduction-to-commas/e/meet-the-comma
  Comment on David Alexander's post “It appears that you skipp...”
  (10 votes)
zenithr31
Posted a year ago. Direct link to zenithr31's post “squid pickles...?”
squid pickles...?
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(10 votes)
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- Micah Ortiz
  Posted 3 months ago. Direct link to Micah Ortiz's post “Don't worry about the squ...”
  Don't worry about the squid pickles, it's just a food he possibly likes.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Ivypool
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Ivypool's post “When David puts a comma i...”
When David puts a comma in front of AND in the list,was the word AND something I need to get in the grocery
store? It's unlikely. cuz' and isn't a food..
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(6 votes)
Answer
- ☆Kriemhild.Gretchen☆
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to ☆Kriemhild.Gretchen☆'s post “"_And_" isn't an object; ...”
  "And" isn't an object; it's a conjunction. There's a video here, "coordinating conjunctions", that can explain better than I ever could.
  
  Here, "and" is used to show that chocolate is part of the list.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (10 votes)
KennedyA
Posted a year ago. Direct link to KennedyA's post “Whyyyyyyyy squid pickles?...”
Whyyyyyyyy squid pickles?!?
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(8 votes)
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Anh Tran
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Anh Tran's post “Yeah, what are squid pick...”
Yeah, what are squid pickles?
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(7 votes)
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- David Alexander
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “In a manner similar to pi...”
  In a manner similar to pickled pigs' feet, pickled eggs, and pickled herring, they are some part of a former animal that has been preserved by being soaked in brine.
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  (1 vote)
jbarriga2576
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to jbarriga2576's post “Do you always need a comm...”
Do you always need a comma after the last thing on your list?
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(4 votes)
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- Kyler Rich
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Kyler Rich's post “No, as far as I know you ...”
  No, as far as I know you never use a comma after the sentence ends, you use a period.
  Comment on Kyler Rich's post “No, as far as I know you ...”
  (7 votes)
kris dreemurr
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to kris dreemurr's post “i would prefer a hot dog ...”
i would prefer a hot dog instead of a pickled squid.
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(6 votes)
Answer

Video transcript

- [Voiceover] Hey Paige! - [Voiceover] What's up David? - [Voiceover] Is this right? Okay, so I'm about to go to the grocery store, and it looks like it says, "I need to get squid pickles and chocolate at the grocery store." - [Voiceover] Yeah. - [Voiceover] Did you want squid pickles? - [Voiceover] No, I wanted squid and pickles. - [Voiceover] I must have written it down wrong, okay. So I think what we need to do in order to fix this list and avoid confusion like this in the future is using commas to punctuate a list. 'Cause right now this just looks like squid pickles, which, I mean probably delicious, pickled squid. - [Voiceover] Yeah. - [Voiceover] Probably delicious. - [Voiceover] Sure. - [Voiceover] But not what we were looking to get today. - [Voiceover] Right. - [Voiceover] If we don't want to get pickled squid today, then we have to put commas in between the elements of the list. - [Voiceover] Right. - [Voiceover] Right, because this is what commas do. The separate elements of every everything. So let's put in those dividers. I need to get squid, comma, pickles, comma, and chocolate at the grocery store. - [Voiceover] Exactly. - [Voiceover] Okay, so we can punctuate a list by separating out nouns, and I see from the second sentence here, Paige could you give me a read for that? - [Voiceover] I'm going to go for a run, read a chapter of my book and go see the new Colonel Justice movie. - [Voiceover] Oh I hear that's good. So right now it says that, but it could also just be "I'm going to go for a run read a chapter of my book, and go see..." you know there's like no-- - [Voiceover] It's a little confusing. - [Voiceover] It's a little confusing, right? There could be such a thing as a run read. - [Voiceover] There probably is. - [Voiceover] You know, like where you go for a jog while holding a book. - [Voiceover] Sounds difficult. - [Voiceover] And so we can also use commas in lists to separate not just nouns like in this first one, but also verb phrases. So I'm going for a run, comma, read a chapter of my book, comma, and go see the new Colonel Justice movie. - [Voiceover] Perfect. - [Voiceover] Cool. So that's how you punctuate a list with commas. - [Voiceover] Yeah, you got it. - [Voiceover] You can learn anything. David out. - [Voiceover] Paige out.