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Serial comma



The Times style manual

Avoid the so-called Oxford comma; say "he ate bread, butter and jam" rather than "he ate bread, butter, and jam".[17]

The New York Times stylebook

In general, do not use a comma before and or or in a series: The snow stalled cars, buses and trains. But use a comma in sentences like this to avoid confusion: A martini is made of gin and dry vermouth, and a chilled glass is essential.[18]

The Economist style manual

Do not put a comma before and at the end of a sequence of items unless one of the items includes another and. Thus 'The doctor suggested an aspirin, half a grapefruit and a cup of broth. But he ordered scrambled eggs, whisky and soda, and a selection from the trolley.' [19]

The AP Stylebook

Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry.

Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series, however, if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction: I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast.

Use a comma also before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases: The main points to consider are whether the athletes are skillful enough to compete, whether they have the stamina to endure the training, and whether they have the proper mental attitude.

The Australian Government Publishing Service's Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers

A comma is used before and, or, or etc. in a list when its omission might either give rise to ambiguity or cause the last word or phrase to be construed with a preposition in the preceding phrase: "There were many expeditions, including those of Sturt, Mitchell, Burke and Wills, and Darling." "The long days at work, the nights of intense study, and inadequate food eventually caused them serious health problems." "The sea, the perfume of wisteria, or a summer lunch: any of these revived memories of an easier time." "We needed to know how to get there, what time to get there, the number of participants, etc."

Generally, however, a comma is not used before and, or or etc. in a list: "John, Warren and Peter came to dinner." "Fruit, vegetables or cereals may be substituted." "Why not hire your skis, boots, overpants etc.?"

The Guardian Style Guide

a comma before the final "and" in lists: straightforward ones (he ate ham, eggs and chips) do not need one, but sometimes it can help the reader (he ate cereal, kippers, bacon, eggs, toast and marmalade, and tea)[20]

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Cultural references

The song "Oxford Comma" by indie rock band Vampire Weekend laments the woes of what the band considers to be excessive attention to the comma's use.

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References

  1. ^ The terms Oxford comma and Harvard comma come from Oxford University Press and Harvard University Press, where use of the serial comma is the house style.
  2. ^ Sometimes the term is also used for the comma that may come before etc. at the end of a list (see the Australian Government Publishing Service's Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, below). Such an extension is reasonable, since etc. abbreviates the Latin phrase et cetera, meaning and other things.
  3. ^ The term serial comma is sometimes used to refer to any of the commas serving as separators in a list. But this usage is rare and old-fashioned, and in this article the term is used only as defined above.
  4. ^ The Oxford Style Manual, 2002; from discussion of the serial comma, called the "Oxford comma" because of its use by Oxford University Press: "But it is commonly used by many other publishers here and abroad, and forms a routine part of style in US and Canadian English" (p. 121).
  5. ^ Grevisse, Maurice; revised by André Goosse (1988). "Ponctuation: la virgule dans la coordination", Le bon usage: grammaire française, 12th ed. (in French), Paris-Gembloux: Duculot, §124 (c) Remarque 1. ISBN 2-8011-0588-0. 
  6. ^ Accademia della Crusca (2002). Domande ricorrenti: Uso della virgola prima della congiunzione e (Italian). Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  7. ^ Polański, E. (editor) (2006). Wielki słownik ortograficzny PWN z zasadami pisowni i interpunkcji, 2nd ed., Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers PWN. ISBN 978-83-01-14571-2.
  8. ^ Real Academia Española (October 2005). Diccionario panhispánico de dudas: coma² §1.2.1 (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
  9. ^ The Oxford Style Manual, 2002; from discussion of the serial comma: "If the last item in a list has emphasis equal to the previous ones, it needs a comma to create a pause of equal weight to those that came before" (p. 121).
  10. ^ The Oxford Style Manual, 2002; from discussion of the serial comma: "The last comma serves also to resolve ambiguity, particularly when any of the items are compound terms joined by a conjunction" (p. 122).
  11. ^ The Oxford Style Manual, 2002; in discussion of the semicolon, examples are given in which complex listed items are separated by semicolons, with the same structure and on the same principles as are consistently recommended for use of the comma as a list separator in the preceding section (pp. 124–5)
  12. ^ Ridout, R., and Witting, C., The Facts of English, Pan, 1973, p. 79: "Usually in such lists 'and' is not preceded by a comma, [...]".
  13. ^ Implicit in the treatment given in The Australian Government Publishing Service's Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 6th edition, Wiley, 2002, on p. 102. The exception discussed (see Usage, below) makes sense only on the assumption of this argument.
  14. ^ "Planet Ustinov", Nov 22, 1998
  15. ^ Lynne Truss (2004). Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Gotham. ISBN 1592400876. 
  16. ^ The Case of the Serial Comma-Solved!
  17. ^ Online Style Guide - P (see punctuation/commas). The Times (2005-12-16). Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  18. ^ Perlman, Merrill (2007-03-06), Talk to the Newsroom: Director of Copy Desks Merrill Perlman, The New York Times 
  19. ^ Research Tools | Economist.com | Economist.com
  20. ^ O | Style guide | Guardian Unlimited

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External links




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