Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

Terry T Brown

Member Since

September 5, 2019

Total number of comments

3

Total number of votes received

3

Bio

Latest Comments

Where are the commas?

  • September 5, 2019, 3:06pm

I am a younger member of the administrative team and my writing is often corrected by an older gentleman who puts that extra comma after the second word in a list of three. Just wanted to make sure I was correct about what I was taught in college and what speech actually sounds like.

Which is correct:
She bought apples, oranges and pears.
OR
she bought apples, oranges, and pears.
I was taught in college that the first one is correct and matches speech patterns.