The Serial comma is good, right, and proper
Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: "Is it just me or is the serial/oxford comma used less and less these days? Does it depend on the type of writing being done? Seeing it left off is becoming quite the pet peeve of mine. Excluding it doesn't always change the meaning of the sentence or make it ambiguous, but I still think it should always be used. Use the Oxford comma!"
No (Jn 8:36).
,
,
and
I had the
finest English teacher on the
planet. She edited English books!
She would disagree with you.
Our first lesson was to learn to
spell her name properly: Mrs.
Kwiatkowski.
We filled the entire blackboard with
diagrammed sentences.
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "You're off topic: The Serial comma is good, right, and proper"
Response to comment [from a
Christian]: "I noticed this
back in the '90s: Using many commas,
which once was the mark of highbrow
and proper writing, became passe,
and the run-on sentence began to
look more professional:
Old way: They are, if
anything, beginning to move in the
opposite direction, likely due to an
increased understanding of, and
interest in, the new purview.
New: They are if anything
beginning to move in the opposite
direction likely due to an increased
understanding of - and interest in -
the new purview."
You use a
comma if the phrase could not stand
on its own.
For example:
If I didn't know any better, I'd say
that TH was trying to annoy me with
that last post.
Response to comment [from an atheist]:
[From Strunk
and White's The Elements of Style,
Chapter 2, Lesson 2]
"In a series of three or more terms
with a single conjunction, use a
comma after each term except the
last
Thus write,
•red, white, and blue
•honest, energetic, but headstrong
•He opened the letter, read it and
made a note of its contents."
