What about sneaky, awkward commas between adjectives?

One comma rule which is a bit more obscure is whether to put a comma between adjectives. If you write sneaky, awkward commas you need a comma whereas if you write plain old commas you don't. Huh? What is the difference? When two adjectives (like sneaky and awkward) describe a noun equally, then you can say the word "and" between them comfortably: It was a sneaky and awkward comma. If you can say "and" between the adjectives, then you need to use the comma. However, if saying "and" between the adjectives sounds silly, then you don't need to use a comma: It was a plain and old comma? Nope, that sounds ridiculous, so do not split the adjectives with a comma. Here are a few more examples:
The angry American tourist had lost her expensive leather suitcase at the newly remodeled baggage claim. Her aggressive, quick temper got her arrested by the wary, over-zealous cops.

Angry and American tourist? Nope. Expensive and leather suitcase? Awkward. Newly and remodeled and baggage claim? No way. These don't take commas.

Aggressive and quick temper. Sounds find. Wary and overzealous cops. OK. Put the comma in.

Does the punctuation go inside or outside the quotation marks?

The answer to this question depends on what punctuation we're talking about. The little guys (commas and periods) go inside the quotation marks. The big fellows (semi-colons and colons) go outside the quotation marks. At least, that is the general rule. But if you have in-text citation involved at the end of a quote, you kick the period outside the quote and place it after the in-text citation parentheses. Here are a few examples:

A survey of local Dads reported that "nine out of ten will overprotect their daughters" (Brown 23).
Not surprisingly, last Friday night my dad said, "You have to be home by eleven."
"I don't want to come home that early," I replied.
He was worried that I was going out with "the wrong sort of fellow," but I trusted Jason completely.
Dad told me, "I am going to wait up"; however, the lights were out when I got home.
I kidded Dad the next morning that he was "one out of ten": He was the type of dad who would rather get some sleep than keep track of his teenager.

Which comma? That comma? Who gets a comma?

When should you put commas around which, that, and who phrases? I've seen very technical explanations of this dilemma that make my eyes cross. Here's how I approach the problem and it tends to be correct most of the time. Don't ever use commas around "that" phrases. Around "which" and "who" phrases, you've got a 50/50 chance. Here's how to make the decision: Is the information inside the "which or who" phrase absolutely essential to understanding the sentence? If so, don't use commas. But if the information inside the "which or who" phrase is an aside (like making a passing comment about someone's choice of clothing), then surround the phrase with commas. Some examples might be useful at this point:

The TV that doesn't work anymore is in the garage.
The guy who was in my algebra class last year is in two of my classes now.
My old dentist, who never used latex gloves, ended up going out-of-business.
The Thai restaurant down the street, which was our favorite, got cited for health violations.
I lost the key which opens my safety deposit box and can't get in until I pay for a replacement.

Commas after long opening phrases

Call them phrases or clauses or whatever, but if you open a sentence with a "phrase" of longer than four words, you should find the end of it and stick a comma. The comma will most likely occur right before the subject and verb of the sentence. Here are some examples:

On the Friday night before last, Kevin went to Chicago with his new friends.
Whenever I think of my college days, I get a little embarrassed.
By the time they got to the front of the line, all the cake was gone.
Because no one else would do it, Randy volunteered to clean the bathrooms.
Flying for over an hour in the middle of a storm, the pilot remained calm and in control.

Notice how in each example you could put the phrase after the main sentence so that it would read "Kevin went to Chicago with his new friends on the Friday night before last." Look at these examples rewritten in another post because four out of five don't get commas if the phrase is found at the end. But when you flip the order and put the cart before the horse, like in the examples above, always stick a comma after the phrase. If the phrase is four words or shorter, the comma is optional and used when it helps to clarify the meaning.

Commas before those wacky "ing" phrases

When you write a sentence with a phrase at the end, you don't put a comma before the phrase. However, there is an exception: the wacky "ing" phrase. In these examples, the first four have ending phrases that don't take a comma. But the last one uses a comma before the word "flying."

Kevin went to Chicago with his new friends on the Friday night before last.
I get a little embarrassed whenever I think of my college days.
All the cake was gone by the time they got to the front of the line.
Randy volunteered to clean the bathrooms because no one else would do it.
The pilot remained calm and in control, flying for over an hour in the middle of a storm.

Because "ing" phrases typically describe a word that happens much earlier in the sentence (in this case "pilot"), you should put a comma before them. If the "ing" phrase describes the word that happens immediately before it, then you don't need a comma. For example, "No one questioned the pilot flying in the middle of a storm." So with "ing" phrases, notice if it describes the word right before it or a word earlier in the sentence, and if the latter is true, put a comma. Also look out for sneaky "ing" phrases that form dangling modifiers.

Commas before and/but/yet/so

There are a lot of comma rules, so now we'll take a look at more stinking commas. People find commas tricky, but I like to think of them as patterns you can recognize. Today's examples are inspired by a pesky skunk living under the house, and not even commas stink as bad as that.

We could smell the skunk all week long, yet we never actually saw it.
At night the entire house reeked, so I had to sleep over at a friend's house.
We hired a trapper, but the skunk avoided getting caught.
After a few days the smell went away, and we figure the little guy moved out.

A comma separates two complete sentences in each of these examples, and it comes right before what we call a conjunction (yet/so/but/and). Without the comma/conjunction you can read each side out loud, and each forms a complete thought. However, the comma/conjunction helps the sentences flow and shows the relationship between the information (especially in the third example), so don't be shy about using this technique. By the way, every sentence in this post has used a comma/conjunction until now. Did you notice?

Red comma white comma and blue

Commas are needed in a series between each piece in the series plus before the final and/or. Here is my easy-to-remember example: The flag is red, white, and blue. A series can show up in a sentence in many ways. You could have a series of verbs (actions): The cheerleader runs, jumps, and flips across the football field. You could have a series of subjects (what or who): The kids, their parents, and family friends gathered at the park for a cookout. The hot dogs, baked beans, and coleslaw were delicious. The series could come at the end of the sentence: People had to choose between a chicken patty, a burger, or a hot dog. You could also have entire portions of a sentence that run in a series: The teenagers took the car for a joy ride, got into a wreck, totaled the vehicle, and were grounded by their parents for a month. Notice that last example had a series of four; the other examples had series of three. It helps to identify the pieces if you take highlighters or colored pencils and make each a separate color. Remember to put the final comma before the and/or when writing academically or professionally. However, journalists drop the final comma in newsprint articles. Perhaps they are saving space?