It’s National Punctuation Day. So let’s battle…
That’s right, folks. There is a National Punctuation Day*, and today is it. So in honor of this momentous occasion, let’s have a throw-down. The serial comma: essential or not? Discuss. *I’m kind of terrified that I used incorrect punctuation somewhere is this post. Be kind.
That’s right, folks. There is a National Punctuation Day*, and today is it. So in honor of this momentous occasion, let’s have a throw-down.
The serial comma: essential or not?
Discuss.
*I’m kind of terrified that I used incorrect punctuation somewhere is this post. Be kind.
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Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
Essential. End of story. I give a fuck about the Oxford comma. So should you.
I think the serial comma is needed in lists. It just helps separate out all of the individual items.
For example, “Jake, Jane, and Bob” makes much more sense to me than “Jake, Jane and Bob” because the latter makes it seem like “Jane and Bob” are a single item.
I can’t believe I’m discussing this. :P
Serial commas are necessary to prevent ambiguity.
For example:
I’d like to thank my brothers, Neil Patrick Harris and Dan.
OR
I’d like to thank my brothers, Neil Patrick Harris, and Dan.
Without the serial comma, it’s not clear whether I’m referring to two entities (NPH and Dan, both of whom are my brothers) or whether I’m referring to three or more entities (my brothers AND NPH AND Dan).
So there.
Some comments from Twitter:
@mlewis106: National Punctuation Day is a decent enough idea, but would be much more willing to observe Dangling Participle Day.
@LesleyBruno: Decidedly in the No Comma After “and” Camp…I mean BEFORE “and” of course. After would just be silly.
@Jeb_Hoge: Absolutely, 100% necessary. I have had heated arguments about it here at work. Another dept. doesn’t use them as a rule; ours does.
Essential. For consistency’s sake, of course. If you start out listing things with a comma between each item, you should finish that way too.
I don’t give a fuck about an Oxford comma.
LISTEN PEOPLE.
I CAN’T EVEN TALK ABOUT THIS OR I WILL GO INTO A RAGE.
I am 100% pro serial comma. The famous example I know of is “This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God.” But my favorite is “The highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector.” I like to think he keeps the black dildos and the white dildos in the same drawer.
I have recently given in and switched from two spaces after a sentence to one, partly because that’s how my iphone does it and partly because I think it looks better with the new default typeface (Calibri) in Microsoft Office 2007.
(See http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002932.html for the source of the second quote and some discussion.)
I heart serial commas AND discussions about punctuation.
Serial commas are excellent, especially in English. I get super confused, and often forget how to read certain things (no joke), because I translate so many different languages for work, so serial commas make my day a little easier. This is especially relieving after translating Thai all day, where there are no spaces between words, and no punctuation marks, aside from periods and occasional exclamation points or question marks(ugh x 2)…sorry guys. I get really pumped about grammar. :)
I prefer a serial comma as well (although might not call it essential). I realize I missed the actual punctuation day, but it’s cool to see interest in the topic. But everyone agrees. We need a divisive issue to sort through/thru.