When you want to comma.
Relax, just do it.
When you want to comma.
Yeah! I KNEW there was a none-dirty version of that song. ;-)
Today the sheriff shall tackles the serial comma. Aka, The Oxford Comma.
The serial comma can be defined as: the comma that comes before the final conjunction in a list (a list that has three or more items). Like this:
I love to read, write, and eat chocolate.
The little highlighted thing is the serial comma. Here's the rule when it comes to the serial comma:
Would you believe that it's a stylistic thing?
I swear it. Really. I promise that in America, it's stylistic. The same cannot be said for other countries. Americans use the serial comma more than pretty much everyone else. Figures. We are gluttons for over-usage of just about everything. Newspapers and print magazines usually don't use the serial comma because it takes up essential print space.
The sheriff here is a serial comma user. I never really figured out why I started out doing that. I think it just looked better to me. Even, if you will. JD likes things even. And to have a whole list in a sentence separated by commas only to leave out those last two? Gah! Those poor things, the want a comma!
PLUS (and I never thought of the serial comma like this) if you don't use it, you might be saying something you don't really mean. Like this:
See that bit of orange juice on the toast? *snort* Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess. I, for one, LOVE me a grammar rule that is solely based on stylistic preferences.
Now feel free to go and either add or delete those serial commas!
~JD
12 comments:
I actually knew this one! Yay me. But I do agree with you about the toast and eggs. Hmm... Interesting perspective. ;D
I'll admit it - I use it!
I use it probably 90% of the time because it just looks right to me. I figure my copy editor will add her input if it looks funky :)
I use it as well--pretty sure I learned to do it that way in grammar school.
I relax, just do it. :-) My grammar teacher would've had my first born if I didn't, though. She was a strict serial comma-er.
I love this song and the naughty version too! Yay! LOL!!
Awwww this pictorial illustration on how to use that elusive comma is so fab!! I love it!! Take care
x
I can't conceive of it being grammatically correct to NOT use it, but apparently it is. Whatevs.
I knew this one! It's definitely a style choice, but as a hardcore serial comma user, it irks me when others don't use it that way, LoL!
What a relief. I had a professor tell me it was incorrect to use a comma like that...now that I know it's stylistic, I am going to use it all I want, and enjoy it. :)
I love that Oxford comma! I've got to bookmark this post for people at work who don't believe me about how necessary it is...
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I used the serial comma religiously in my earlier writing but broke myself of the habit since it is no longer considered "stylish" in some circles. Of course, two spaces after a period is a dead thing too, but I can't seem to retrain myself on that one. It was drilled into me a hundred years ago when I started typing. :)
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