Serial comma history

Patti and her friends are debating about the serial comma—the comma that comes before the final conjunction in a list. Whether to use the serial comma is a style issue , which is why Patti and her friends ended up in a debate. Although the British are less likely to use serial commas than Americans 1, 2 , primarily it's newspapers that allow writers to omit that final comma 1, 3.

Newspapers are always looking to save space, and one argument for leaving the comma out is that it's unnecessary in simple sentences. Consider this sentence: When you look at worldwide sales, the top-grossing movies of all time are currently Avatar, Titanic and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. I didn't use a serial comma in that sentence, and there wasn't any confusion.

That's the main argument against using the comma in every case—leaving it out often doesn't change anything. The serial comma is also sometimes called the Oxford comma because it's used by Oxford University Press or the Harvard comma because it's used by Harvard University Press, but I find these names misleading because so many other publications also use the serial comma. Using Serial Commas Adds Consistency Although the serial comma isn't always necessary, I favor it because often it does add clarity, and I believe in having a simple, consistent style, instead of trying to decide whether you need something on a case-by-case basis.

I also think using the serial comma makes even simple lists easier to read. Really, unless space is incredibly expensive, I can't imagine why anyone would decide the best method is sometimes leave it out and sometimes add it in. You can make the meaning clear in two ways: place the final comma after peanut butter or after chocolate chip, or rewrite the sentence so that there is no ambiguity.

While writing and speaking are two different means of communicating, any sentence you write should sound good when said aloud. Getting rid of the serial comma hinders euphony unless you add the comma and its pause back in as any sensible person would when reading aloud. The second reason is that when we use semicolons to separate items in a series, we always include a semicolon before the final conjunction. And believe me, you do not want to omit the final semicolon in a series which necessitates the use of that punctuation mark.

The end result will surely be a grisly, disgusting train wreck of words and conjunctions and punctuation piling together in an arrhythmical mess. In short, the serial comma is a glorious, logical, and beautiful thing, and those who do not use it should be beaten, waterboarded, and executed in as grisly a fashion as possible. Go figure. I have a shocking confession: I was taught to omit the serial comma. Admitting your problem is the first step. You are commenting using your WordPress.

You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. However, omitting it can sometimes cause some strange misunderstandings.

I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. Without the Oxford comma, the sentence above could be interpreted as stating that you love your parents, and your parents are Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty. Those who oppose the Oxford comma argue that rephrasing an already unclear sentence can solve the same problems that using the Oxford comma does.

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