What is the big deal about the Oxford comma?

The blue-blood punctuation mark, named after the Oxford University Press, acts as a social signifier, a sieve for the bookish and studious (and, perhaps, pretentious). It suggests personality traits that extend far beyond punctuation preferences. There are other ways of doing this in your Tinder profile, of course.

What is so great about the Oxford comma?

The Oxford comma is the comma placed before the conjunction at the end of a list of things. For example, in “the flag was red, white, and blue”, the Oxford comma would be the one appearing before “and”. Proponents of the Oxford comma say it's necessary for removing ambiguity in sentences.

Why is the Oxford comma so controversial?

This practice is controversial and is known as the serial comma or Oxford comma, because it is part of the house style of Oxford University Press." There are cases in which the use of the serial comma can avoid ambiguity and also instances in which its use can introduce ambiguity.

Why do people want to get rid of the Oxford comma?

Why don't they use it? Many opponents of the Oxford comma claim that it makes a piece of writing sound more pretentious and stuffy, and that it can make things seem cluttered and redundant. Many magazine publishers renounce its use as well, because sentences loaded with commas take up valuable page space.

Is the Oxford comma correct?

So what is the Oxford comma? Well, appropriately enough, the Oxford Dictionary has the answer. The proper definition of the Oxford comma is “a comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before 'and' or 'or'.” For example: “Today I went to lunch with my roommates, Tom, and Molly.”

Grammar's great divide: The Oxford comma - TED-Ed

Why is it called Oxford comma?

The Oxford comma is the final comma that comes before the conjunction in a list of three or more items. Its name comes from the Oxford University Press (OUP), where for over a century it has been standard in the Oxford Style Manual.

Who uses Oxford comma?

In a sentence with a list of three or more items, the Oxford comma is the comma you place right before the coordinating conjunction and last item in the list. It is also known as a serial comma, a series comma, or a Harvard comma. The Oxford comma is considered optional by American English language grammarians.

Is the Oxford comma obsolete?

An Oxford, or serial, comma is the last comma in a list; it goes before the word "and." Technically, it's grammatically optional in American English. However, depending on the list you are writing out, omitting it can lead to some confusion.

Do Lawyers use the Oxford comma?

Lawyers should use the Oxford comma to help avoid ambiguity. Three ambiguities may arise without this comma: Whether the two final items in a list are one combined element or separate. Whether one noun phrase modifies the others when there are two or more noun phrases next to each other in a list.

How does a comma cost a million?

For those of you who don't believe punctuation matters, here's a news flash; indeed, it does. In one particular case a comma cost Maine's Oakhurst Dairy $5 million dollars at the conclusion of a $10 million dollar lawsuit that hinged on overtime pay.

What is the opposite of the Oxford comma?

AP Style—the style guide that newspaper reporters adhere to—does not require the use of the Oxford comma. The sentence above written in AP style would look like this: Please bring me a pencil, eraser and notebook.

Does Australia use the Oxford comma?

In Australia, most style guides recommend leaving out the Oxford comma. However, public service style guides, for example, allow them to be used where confusion could arise or where the items in the list are more complicated than simple one-word names. In other words, a fair amount of judgement is involved.

Why are there no commas in a will?

Punctuation was traditionally omitted in legal documents and this practise is continued by many Will and Trust drafters. Drafters prefer instead to use underlining or spacing to avoid the ordinary use of commas. The traditional exclusion rests on a precedent both ancient and authoritative.

Why are commas not used in legal documents?

Simply omitting the commas often leads to ambiguity or an unintended meaning. For example: This lawyer, said the judge, is a fool. This lawyer said the judge is a fool.

What are restrictive modifiers?

restrictive modifiers. A non-restrictive modifier adds information that is not essential to our understanding of the sentence; if we remove it from the sentence, the basic meaning of the sentence does not change. A restrictive modifier identifies, or limits the reference of, the noun it modifies.

Does the New York Times use the Oxford comma?

(In most cases, The Times stylebook discourages the serial comma, often called the Oxford comma because it was traditionally used by the Oxford University Press.)

What is a superfluous comma?

Except after an introductory dependent clause, do not use a comma to separate a dependent clause from a main clause unless the dependent clause provides nonessential information.

Why is there a comma after honored?

why is there a comma after honored? to separate two adjectives to create a noun.

Why is proper grammar necessary in legal writing?

Lawyers work with the written word and are obligated to handle the language with mastery, accuracy and precision. Their main duty is to adequately articulate the positions and the arguments of their clients, and know how to clearly communicate their ideas.

Should Dr have a full stop Australia?

The difference here is that Australian English does not place a full stop after a title when it ends with the same letter as the full version (e.g. 'Mr', 'Mrs' or 'Dr'), whereas American English does: Australian English: Mr and Mrs Douglas walked home. American English: Mr.

Do you need a comma in 1000?

It's quite common only to use comma separators for numbers 10,000 or larger, which is the OP's question. But using commas for 1000 and larger (except years) is not considered bad style.

What is a Chicago comma?

The most important is that Chicago “strongly recommends” using a serial (or Oxford) comma for lists of three or more items. This means adding a comma before the final conjunction to prevent ambiguity: No Serial Comma: She invited her parents, the headteacher and the janitor.

What is the difference between serial and Oxford comma?

The serial comma, also called the Oxford comma or Harvard comma, is the comma before the concluding conjunction (and, or) in a series. It appears after the second-last item in a list of three or more items in a sentence. Maya's favorite colors are green, blue , and black . The serial comma is the one before and.

Is the serial comma the same as the Oxford comma?

Its generic name is the serial (or series) comma, but many people know it by a fancier name: Oxford comma. The serial comma is the one before and, or, or nor at the end of a series of three or more items. It's the comma after b in “a, b, and c”—and, incidentally, the comma after the first or in the previous sentence.

Can you put a comma before and in a sentence?

It is grammatically correct to use a comma before "and" (and other coordinating conjunctions such as "but", "or", "nor") only when it splits two independent clauses (i.e. if you remove the "and" you will be left with two complete sentences), or if you're using it as an Oxford comma.