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The Oxford Comma

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thatbags Wed 11-Dec-13 07:47:08

Best ever example in favour thereof

For those whose lives have not yet included arguments about the use of the Oxford comma, it's the comma in a list after the word 'and' thus, for instance: What one needs to make coffee: ground coffee beans, water, water heater, and jug/coffeepot.

I nearly added mug/cup, but of course one doesn't need a mug or cup to make coffee wink

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petallus Thu 12-Dec-13 17:16:32

It is generally true that good punctuation and grammar aids understanding but surely only up to a point. The odd capital letter in the wrong place does not make all that difference for instance.

Of course Orwell was writing in the 50s and he thought Americanisms should be avoided. Ha! He'd have a fit if he was alive today!

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MamaCaz Sat 21-Dec-13 17:37:34

I have pasted the sentence below across from a discussion on the WordReference forums, partly because I think it is a good example of why the comma is sometimes needed, but largely because it made me smile:
forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2672090

The classic example often cited: "This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God."

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broomsticks Mon 23-Dec-13 17:31:54

Missing out commas can give the wrong impression, as in, 'I like cooking my family and my pets.'

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absent Mon 23-Dec-13 18:30:06

broomstocks Leaving out the much maligned apostrophe can do the same thing. "Those things over there are my husbands". smile

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Ana Mon 23-Dec-13 18:56:13

tchgrin

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MamaCaz Sat 28-Dec-13 11:38:32

grin

And the similar: Those tools over there are my ex-husbands.

(I read something similar recently, quite possibly on this forum, so I hope its author doesn't mind my pinching it.)

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