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The Oxford Comma

(57 Posts)
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

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.)

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

tchgrin

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

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.'

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."

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!

Galen Thu 12-Dec-13 17:12:01

Damming with faint praise?

thatbags Thu 12-Dec-13 16:44:15

I think good punctuation can improve lucidity, and bad punctuation can make things harder to understand, or make them more open to amibguity. Ambiguity isn't always a bad thing of course; I'm thinking of literary appreciation exercises that depended at least in part on the connotations of the words used.

petallus Thu 12-Dec-13 16:38:08

Oscar Wilde reckoned that once, when struggling to compose a poem, he spent the whole morning deciding to take a comma out and the whole afternoon deciding to put it back in again.

On the other hand, George Orwell thought that grammar and punctuation didn't matter all that much so long as what you wrote was lucid.

Elegran Thu 12-Dec-13 14:09:04

The standard of grammar up with which I will not put.

Galen Thu 12-Dec-13 13:51:59

I always knew that a preposition was a bad thing to end a sentence with.

Flowerofthewest Thu 12-Dec-13 13:34:38

Thought it was a variety/new species of butterfly. Got quite excited just then.

Icyalittle Thu 12-Dec-13 12:37:30

ffinnochio it is as anno says: a comma between two quite separate sentences, where either a full stop or a semi-colon should be. Yes, it matters, because it can change the sense.
I had a fierce English teacher (i.e. teacher of English) at school in Scotland who made us REWRITE an essay if we used 'so' as a conjunction, or the verb 'to get'. I can't do it to this day, 50 years later.

whenim64 Thu 12-Dec-13 08:32:06

That's been happening to me, too!! grin

shysal Thu 12-Dec-13 08:17:54

I can't seem to stop using exclamation marks!! At least every other sentence uses one! Is that bad?

petallus Wed 11-Dec-13 23:10:32

grin

Ana Wed 11-Dec-13 21:27:45

And so do I! tchwink

thatbags Wed 11-Dec-13 21:17:40

I hope you get better soon.

petallus Wed 11-Dec-13 21:07:36

My blood runs cold!

whenim64 Wed 11-Dec-13 21:07:08

And I end some sentences with 'of.' Rebel! grin

Ana Wed 11-Dec-13 21:05:26

Yes, I know that feeling, Grandmanorm ! But I do it all the same! tchgrin

Grandmanorm Wed 11-Dec-13 20:42:04

The other grammatical fact that was drummed into to me was never start a sentence with and or but. I still feel "guilty" when I do that!!

Nonu Wed 11-Dec-13 20:37:12

At e end of the day is it really that important ??
Just saying , HONEYS !!

tchgrin

ffinnochio Wed 11-Dec-13 20:36:43

Just wondering what an inadequate comma is. hmm

whenim64 Wed 11-Dec-13 20:20:47

I use them gratuitously! grin ;;;;;;;;;;;