Kia ora,
I would like to file a complaint with the manager, who is, unfortunately, me.
I allowed myself to get into an argument with someone about the Oxford comma. On Facebook, no less. Who have I become.
If you need a refresh, the Oxford comma (or serial comma, or series comma) is the final comma in a list:
When I go walking I always pack muesli bars, M&Ms, and a banana.
Some people love it (me) some people hate it (not me). But there are no hard and fast rules here. If you want to use it, great. If you don’t want to use it, also great. I don’t care either way (but if we’re working together and its use is inconsistent, I will chuck it in).
People argue about whether the Oxford comma reduces ambiguity, increases ambiguity, improves clarity, changes the writer’s meaning … on it goes. If you’re running into any of those ambiguity or clarity issues, then in most cases all you need to do is reorder the sentence. Here’s one example. I’ve put the Oxford comma in square brackets.
Every visitor to New Zealand should experience the culinary delights of cheese rolls, flat whites[,] and fish and chips.
This sentence is clear enough whether you have a comma after “flat whites” or not. I doubt most readers are going to think we’re over here serving flat whites and fish and chips together in some unholy attempt at fusion cuisine.
To me, the issue here is that the two uses of “and” in quick succession is a little inelegant. The fix is simple: just reorder the list for a smoother read:
Every visitor to New Zealand should experience the culinary delights of fish and chips, cheese rolls[,] and flat whites.
No need to argue about the comma.
Back to Facebook. I told myself that I was above such petty arguments. I tried to scroll past the ridiculous post, but I got sucked in and wasted time I will never get back. I must do better.
Effective immediately, I will:
- leave that FB group and its grammar trolls
- take punctuation advice from trusted confidants
- calm down – it’s only a comma.
Deep breaths. It’s okay.
Cheers,
Deborah
PS. If you really want to get into the weeds with Oxford commas, get yourself a copy of Benjamin Dreyer’s Dreyer’s English. He dedicates two-and-a-bit pages to this piece of punctuation, and he’s adamantly on the side of the series comma, as he insists on calling it.
If you can, get the UK version. The sass and arguments about UK English and US English had me legit laughing out loud!
📚 What I’m reading
Finished! The book of trespass: crossing the lines that divide us, by Nick Hayes. Nick does not use the Oxford comma, by the way. I don’t know if that’s his preferred style or Bloomsbury’s style.
Next up: Beyond the trees: a journey alone across Canada’s Arctic, by Adam Shoalts. From what I can tell (I’m only a few pages in), Adam does use the Oxford comma.
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Deborah Shaw Adventure Editing 