Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Today's topic is the serial comma. Amanda grammar please use the serial comma! If you don't, I will interpret the objects before and after "and" as a pair, and be expecting you to list more items. The comma represents a pause, and a breath when speaking. It is confusing to me in all cases when it is left out, if only for a split second. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=21241#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=21241#Comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:22:43 GMT Christine grammar I am confused about using "on" or "in". For example, On a lake or In a lake; On the ocean or In the ocean; On an island or In an islane? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=18706#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=18706#Comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:43:02 GMT Omorose Panya grammar "An oft-cited example is the made-up book dedication To my parents, Ayn Rand and God. A reasonable reader would assume there are four entities being thanked: mom, dad, Ayn Rand, and God; but without the serial comma you could also conclude that the two parents are Ayn Rand and God. "----made me laugh. Anyway, I omit the last comma most of the time but I do insert it when I think confusion is possible. The risk is overestimating the possibility, but I take it, lol. Thanks for the podcast =) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=18535#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=18535#Comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:15:32 GMT Jeremy grammar Sung about by Vampire Weekend in their song, "Oxford Comma" Who gives a f#$& about an Oxford comma? I've seen those English dramas too They're cruel So if there's any other way To spell the word It's fine with me, with me http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=16132#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=16132#Comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:05:17 GMT Rob grammar Thanks for covering a pet peeve of mine. I'm a big proponent of the serial comma for some of the reasons mentioned in your post. With more people writing for the web (either web copy or blog posts, etc.) I'm seeing more and more abuses of the serial comma. My main complaint is that it's often used intermittently in a single document or website. Agree with you that it might as well be used all the time to avoid confusion. Posting about it and other language/grammar topics here: http://www.semanticargument.com/?p=111 http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=16117#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=16117#Comments Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:16:12 GMT Paula grammar Another good reason to use the serial comma: Your teacher tells you to do it for reasons of consistency, and she will deduct points from your paper if you don't. :) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=15791#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=15791#Comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:03:11 GMT Adalia grammar There are only a few instances in which you should use the serial comma: 1. When you absolutely have to (which you don't, by the way, as a simple re-wording of a sentence will usually solve any confusion), 2. When it's in a legal document (as said above by John Comeaux), or 3. When you're too stupid to view your own writing to determine if it will confuse someone else, or else too stupid to re-word your own bloody writing. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=13337#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=13337#Comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:44:39 GMT Megan grammar As an Aussie who now teaches at an American school in Asia, I've only encountered the serial comma for the first time recently. We were taught that the comma is a replacement for 'and' in a list, leaving only the last 'and' to complete the list. I can see the advantanges of adding it but after 36 years of training, it's a difficult change. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=10562#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=10562#Comments Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:57:07 GMT Bob grammar Use of the serial comma fulfills not only the careful editor's goal of clarity, but also the goal of consistency, something frustrated by its use only when required so as to avoid a potentially confusing "and" series. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=10228#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=10228#Comments Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:12:29 GMT Harry grammar Remember a podgy US Senator named McCarthy? 'Reds Under Every Bed? What a jerk! He did the Brits a real favor by gifting us very talented writers persona non grata in Hollywood. Cy Endfield made 'Zulu', for me Britain's best movie ever (Michael Caine's first big movie). Cy stayed in the UK and died there, long after the US kissed and made up with Ruskie 'Reds'! Now it's Russian oil the Americans want. What a world! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=3121#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx?commentid=3121#Comments Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:08:33 GMT Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:22:43 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us