Comments on: Where are the commas?

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:21:36 +0000

@ Archie: Isn't even the last "and" technically a conjunction? What else can it be if it is not a conjunction? "A boy came across some grazing cattle. There was a brindle, a brown, a black and white, and a red."

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By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:09:37 +0000

Should have been "into practice" ...

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By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:08:31 +0000

Not being a native speaker, I wonder whether the problem with the serial comma in "This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God" could be solved by using "as well as" before "God". That is at least how I would attempt to reduce ambiguity in my mother tongue (German: using "sowie" - like "and" but sometimes good to use instead). Another thing I am highly interested in is the use (or not) of a comma after "that" in the following two sentences: - Note that(,) while Smith has good ideas, he cannot put them to practice. - Everyone should know that(,) in 1994, most cars used on American roads were Japanese ones. I would certainly use the comma in the second instance (parenthetic expression) and feel tempted to do so in the first as well. However, I have seen ex. 1 with one and two commas, ex. 2 with none, one and two.

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By: rebubula

rebubula — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:21:49 +0000

i had an english teacher who told our class that the final comma is sometimes optional but she didn't know when, so she said to just always put it. Additionally, it would be useful to know that she was an idiot. In conclusion, please be referred to dariensan | Nov-13-02 4:30PM

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By: ram

ram — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:47:58 +0000

If the sentence goes like this,"....low, medium and high costs", should there be a comma preceding "and"?

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By: Eric Scheidt

Eric Scheidt — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:29:19 +0000

Here's an argument given to me by a lawyer (for what its worth): Example: No comma before the conjunction: I gave my money to Tom, Dick and Harry. According to a lawyer, if this were a very simplified version of a will, a lawyer would view 'Dick and Harry' as a partnership, therefore dividing the sum of money between two groups, 1.) Tom; and 2.) Dick and Harry. By adding the comma before the conjunction, you are able to avoid any confusion in this area. Also, when a series becomes complicated (i.e. ...Tom, Washington D.C.; Dick, New York; and Harry, Atlanta...) you must insert the comma. Again, it seems to me that using a serial comma makes the most sense.

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By: M Kidd

M Kidd — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:18:27 +0000

I can't believe this whole discussion. I spent 12 years in school learning where to put the bloody commas, 4 years in college, 3 years getting a Master's Degree, and umpteen years teaching grammar to high schoolers after that.The commas went in the same place the whole stinkin time!!! There was never any question about it, and if I ommitted one or added one too many, my professors painted in blood on my English Lit. papers!!! (extra punctuation entirely my choice!!!) I now find myself raising a grandchild and googling "Commas in a Series" to find out why his second grade teacher bled on his language paper!!! What's happening to this world?

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By: Lenore Boehnlein

Lenore Boehnlein — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:44:55 +0000

When do you use a comma after the abbreviation of e.g.?

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By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 06:19:12 +0000

The Oxford Comma (as a serial comma before the "and" in a list is known) is optional. It's all a matter of what makes the meaning least ambiguous and most aethetically pleasing. I often use the Oxford Comma: "Yesterday I ate apples, bananas, and cherries." But in the following sentence I would generally drop it because doing so seems to fuse "cherries" more closely to "bananas", thereby making the division in the sentence by the second "and" stronger: "Yesterday I ate apples, bananas and cherries, and then I bought some oranges."

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By: porsche

porsche — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 01:00:53 +0000

I know some will agree with me and some won't, but I was taught in school (some time ago, I might add) that the comma in question was optional. This is what I was taught and what appeared in print in my grammar textbooks throughout my entire education. I mean optional with no qualification whatsoever. Either way is completely correct. I generally add the comma because it does usually eliminate any possible ambiguity, but I view this as purely a matter of personal preference and would never claim that the opposite view is incorrect in any way. P.S. - In many postings on this website, I often see references to various style manuals as justification for all sorts of points of views. I would like to remind you all that, while useful to help support a particular position, style manuals are just that: STYLE manuals. They are not authoritative RULEbooks. A newspaper, magazine, or trade organization (etc.) uses one to create a uniform appearance in their writings. Ambiguous rules may be resolved in such a manual, but, that's because sometimes grammar rules ARE ambiguous. The manual doesn't claim to be right or wrong. It just establishes a common practise for the sake of consistency within the organization. P.P.S. - Maybe I should start a new post for this, but I was taught that words like however, regardless, thus, and even the simple "but", when used in the middle of a sentence, should be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma. Today, it seems that, especially with "but", it is preceded with a comma with no comma afterwards. I believe that modern grammar now accepts both but prefers the simpler. Comments?

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