Oxford commas

[Merlin]

[Dannsar]

I don't get this

 

If you mean something like Lynne Truss's Eats Shoots And Leaves, it's pretty important.

 

Edit ... I get it now lol ... exactly like Lynne Truss's example.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Dannsar

[colinian]

My Creative Writing teacher in high school taught us to use the Oxford comma. I've used it as a general rule ever since. Use of the Oxford comma makes most sentences that include a list of three or more items unambiguous.

 

 

Colin

[Cia]

I've seen that comic a few times but it's funny every time.

[Bleu]

This made me think, because I tend to respect the Oxford comma, purely out of habit, when I write in English. In French, we have a pretty similar usage of commas, except in this very case, before the word "et" (and). So I expect that in French we would use a colon in this sentence:

We invited the strippers: JFK and Stalin.

Of course, it wouldn't work in every case, particularly if the sentence is longer.

[Dark]

I am still snickering over that comic.

 

I was taught that use of the comma as well, though I never knew it had a name. It's interesting how language changes.

[Nastasha]

Honestly, I never understood why people debated over the use of a comma. When I was in grade school I remember my teacher saying that it was optional, but to me it always made more sense to have a comma separating every item in a list. I tend to become momentarily confused when writers leave it out. Maybe it's just because I'm blond...

[Zolia Lily]

I like to think i'm a bit of a grammar nerd, but this one i seem to have missed along the way! HA! Maybe now i have mastered the english language.....

[Zombie]

When I was in grade school I remember my teacher saying that it was optional, but to me it always made more sense to have a comma separating every item in a list. I tend to become momentarily confused when writers leave it out. Maybe it's just because I'm blond...

 

My memory of grammar lessons (urghh!) is only to use punctuation if it's needed to make meaning clear, or for nuance. So, sometimes the Oxford comma is needed but often it isn't. We were told to add commas and other punctuation to make sense of this:

 

Brad where Josh had had had had had had had had had had had the teachers approval

 

Edit: sneakily, the teacher didn't tell us a letter case change was also needed

Edited March 8, 2012 by Zombie

[velefried]

Must have Oxford comma! If not, I will read your sentence with a different meaning than you implied and will make a funny face, then think very, very hard about whether or not I want to continue reading your writing.

[rustle]

I'm told the Oxford comma was dropped by the AP Style Guide, to reduce one more character in the days of the teletype.

 

I was taught to use it, and still do most of the time, but language and use change, even written. Fortunately, since Victorian English is not as much fun as what we use today. Mostly, I follow two general rules: The written word is meant to express the spoken word, and the comma represents a pause in spoken language.

[LJH]

I was taught to place a comma after he said/ she said.

"Please remove the comma," he said, handing him a rubber.

All i see nowadays is this; "Please remove the comma," he said handing him the rubber.

Freaks me out.

Lol

[colinian]

Putting a comma after the "he said" in your example is how I was taught in intermediate school and high school. I've always done it that way ever since. Having a missing comma inserted and circled in red by the teacher a few times, along with a "- 2" shaving two points off my score on what I'd written, caused me to figure out that leaving that comma off wasn't a very good idea.

 

Colin