Well, my question did arise from my being aware of punctuation differences. English is not my mother (nor father ) tongue and having seen commas before 'and' I just wanted to know if they're obligatory - we never put a comma before our 'and' (which is simply 'i'), whether it is linking a list of terms or subclauses (unless, as always, it's an exception). We also put a comma before every subclause (unless precedeed by 'i', its synonyms and in some other cases, of course ) - that's why I have a terrible dillema every time I am to put/avoid it in an English sentence. I must admit, however, that I've always thought you anglophones share at least punctuation rules. Can somebody please explain me how the Empire did manage to last when its subjects couldn't even agree on whether to put a comma ?