The flavors available include roast beef and mustard, salt and vinegar and sweet chili.Lists where individual items contain conjunctions I met the authors, as well as to Maya Singh and Harper Martin.I met Maya Singh, Harper Martin, and the author.The ambiguity is more reliably resolved by changing the order of the list items or rephrasing: Neither using the comma nor omitting it fixes these problems in all cases, so it can’t be counted as a point for or against the serial comma. I met the author, Maya Singh and Harper Martin.“Maya Singh” can be read as an appositive only if it’s surrounded by commas: Is Maya Singh the author, or are they two different people? Here, leaving the comma out actually removes the ambiguity. I met the author, Maya Singh, and Harper Martin.For example, when the first item is singular instead of plural: I met the authors, Maya Singh, and Harper Martin.īut it’s just as easy to find examples where adding the serial comma actually makes the list less clear.It’s not clear whether this is a list of three items (“the authors,” “Maya Singh,” and “Harper Martin”) or whether “Maya Singh and Harper Martin” is an appositive-a phrase that identifies “the authors.”Īdding the serial comma makes it completely clear that Maya Singh and Harper Martin are not the same people as the authors: I met the authors, Maya Singh and Harper Martin.Lists where items could be misread as appositives Lists where individual items contain conjunctions.Lists where items could be misread as appositives.Use the best grammar checker available to check your comma placement quickly and easily.įix mistakes for free Does the serial comma make lists clearer?Īdvocates of the serial comma claim that it clears up confusion in two kinds of lists: The following section examines it in more detail. The argument about clarity is the main point of debate. Most people instinctively leave it out in writing adding it can make your text look overly stiff and formal. It resembles speech more closely (people tend to pause before saying the last item in a list). It takes up space on the page-mainly relevant in contexts like newspapers, where space is limited. The main ones are summarized in the table below.Īll other list items are separated by commas, so it’s more consistent to add a comma before the final one as well. Various arguments are used for and against the serial comma. Adding one is grammatically incorrect:Īrguments for and against the serial comma The recipe calls for flour, eggs, milk, and sugar.īut you should use no commas in a list of only two items.The recipe calls for flour, eggs, milk and sugar.The recipe calls for flour eggs milk and sugar.You always need commas between the earlier items in the list, whether or not you add the serial comma: Note that the other commas in the list are not optional. I’ve never climbed a mountain, skydived, or run a marathon. Springsteen played his greatest hits, including “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark ,” and “Thunder Road.”ĭo you prefer your tea black, with milk, with sugar, or with both milk and sugar? It can be used regardless of what those items are (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives, longer phrases) and whether the conjunction used is “or” or “and.” Examples: Oxford commaThe concert tickets included backstage passes, VIP seating, and a meet-and-greet with the band. The serial comma can be used (or left out) in any list of three or more items.
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