Friday Funnies: Why I Still Use the Oxford Comma

[ariestess]

So this week, your Friday Funny deals with one of my personal pet peeve topics: the Oxford Comma.



shortee over at tumblr originally posted this graphic and I fell in love with it.

For the record, not all grammar comics are right, and this happens to be one of them. For it to mean the orange juice is on the toast, there should be an "and" in between eggs and toast. Both sentences read very similarly, and the intent appears obvious even without the commas.

In the end, I don't know about you, but the idea of orange juice on my toast is gross. YMMV, of course.

Comments

[diebirchen.livejournal.com]

Yup! I always use it -- always!

[cedara]

As a non native to English, I'm used to my mother language not doing the Oxford comma. There's only a comma before "and" when a full sentence follows. Nine out of ten times, I can use most of the comma rules I'm used to. This is one of the few exceptions I shall have to memorize for English. Thanks.

[ariestess]

It's one of the easiest ways to get my dander up, to be honest.

[ariestess]

You're welcome. Hope it helps.

[alicambs.livejournal.com]

Never use it, was taught it was wrong to put a comma after and in a list! To me the second sentence makes perfect sense while the first sentence has a totally superfluous comma in it. :-) I tend to order my words to ensure that I would never need a comma after and in a list.. it's just the way I was taught. I think Brit English makes far less use of the Oxford comma than American English.

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

I wasn't trained to use it in school, but my understanding is that lawyers have made it important to use it these days in the US. I was told by an editor that a lawyer made a case for a will that listed a number of heirs without the comma, made the last two split a portion instead of receiving a full portion each. In other words, listed as Tom, Dick and Harry, made a two-way split, not three as Dick and Harry were counted as one together. I added the comma she suggested to my story before it was published. :o)