Serial (Oxford) Comma: Yay or Nay?

Serial Comma: Yay or Nay?

  • Yay

    Votes: 19 90.5%
  • Nay

    Votes: 2 9.5%

  • Total voters
    21

DWilson

Where am I? What turn is it?
Joined
Jun 7, 2012
Messages
1,969
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
So, earlier today I nearly caused a thread (in CiVI - Gen Discussion: All Leader Portraits) to need to be closed for getting off topic. I claimed that the Deluxe Edition description saying "new maps, scenarios, civilizations and leaders" caused me to assume that "civilizations and leaders" were a single clause, and thus that it didn't make multiple leaders per civ more likely. What (perhaps inevitably) followed was an off-topic discussion on punctuation, which saw two mod warnings before it came to an end.

Curious what you all think, I thought I would bring it to the off topic area, and see how you all feel.

A quick example for both sides (not originally mine, edited for possible age appropriate issues):

Pro:

"I spent last night with the women, JFK and Stalin" (no comma, possibly implies JFK and Stalin are women) vs. "I spent last night with the women, JFK, and Stalin" (comma, clarity)

Con:

"I spent last night with the woman, JFK, and Stalin" (comma, possibly implies JFK is a woman) vs. "I spent last night with the woman, JFK and Stalin" (no comma, clarity)
 
I was taught to put the comma in.
 
To have a comma before the "and" is gramatically incorrect

It is prescribed by too many style guides to be incorrect.

After once 50 commas were inserted into my paper during copy editing, I have embraced the serial comma.
 
To have a comma before the "and" is gramatically incorrect

We make our own grammar rules as we go. Clarity is in practice far more important than sticking to the rules.
 
Much like the ban on starting a sentence with "But" or "And". Sometimes it's necessary dammit!

Well, since some time, I never use "but" outside quotation marks, after having given the topic more thought. It's a toxic word, as it basically tells the reader - perhaps unintentionally - that the whole sentence is (nothing "but") superfluous, except for the parts that come after "but".
 
It is prescribed by too many style guides to be incorrect.

After once 50 commas were inserted into my paper during copy editing, I have embraced the serial comma.
Too many style guides are incorrect
We make our own grammar rules as we go. Clarity is in practice far more important than sticking to the rules.
Yea and the grammar rules we've made as we go is that there is not a comma before the and in lists
Yeah, but that's a bad rule.

Much like the ban on starting a sentence with "But" or "And". Sometimes it's necessary dammit!

I wouldn't say so. I've often had struggles wanting to start a sentence with "but" or "and", but not having that comma is easy and straightforward

Also, having the comma there makes it look ugly
 
To have a comma before the "and" is gramatically incorrect

How do you figure? Because just saying that it's incorrect is pointless, without evidence. The reason other posters referenced style guides is because there is serious disagreement over the issue, which (major) style guides normally settle.

Saying it's incorrect is like saying that color is incorrect and colour is correct (or vice versa). It's not incorrect, it's just different depending on who you ask.
 
How do you figure? Because just saying that it's incorrect is pointless, without evidence. The reason other posters referenced style guides is because there is serious disagreement over the issue, which (major) style guides normally settle.

Saying it's incorrect is like saying that color is incorrect and colour is correct (or vice versa). It's not incorrect, it's just different depending on who you ask.
the funny part is that he's not even a native speaker
 
How do you figure? Because just saying that it's incorrect is pointless, without evidence. The reason other posters referenced style guides is because there is serious disagreement over the issue, which (major) style guides normally settle.

Saying it's incorrect is like saying that color is incorrect and colour is correct (or vice versa). It's not incorrect, it's just different depending on who you ask.

I was thaught it in school
 
I was thaught it in school

I was taught that one should use it in school, as were many others. What makes it so that your teacher and program in particular is correct and others are not?
 
I dislike it, as I tend to read commas as slight pauses. A surfeit of commas makes a sentence sound staccato and less natural to me.
 
As a shareholder in a major ink manufacturer, I promote the use of the extra comma.

More seriously; I guess I was exposed to more early guidance that use of that comma is correct, and it has stuck with me. It always jars me when someone leaves it out, even though I know there is no absolute ruling on yes or no.
 
I dislike it, as I tend to read commas as slight pauses. A surfeit of commas makes a sentence sound staccato and less natural to me.

Wouldn't a list be supposed to sound staccato though?

I agree with you in general even though I know I use too many commas. I catch that all the time in my writing.
 
Top Bottom