Culture · 6 pages · 12 min
Why the serial comma is a style choice
The comma before the last and in a list is required by some style books and barred by others.
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From the opening
The serial comma, also called the Oxford comma, is the comma before the final and or or in a list of three or more items; it is a style choice because major guides disagree on purpose, and English sentences remain grammatical on either side of the disagreement. The mark manages an ambiguity; it is not the difference between language and chaos. The opening covers oxford and Chicago keep it, news style usually drops it, and some lists really are ambiguous.
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Inside
- Oxford and Chicago keep it
- News style usually drops it
- Some lists really are ambiguous
- One house, one consistent policy
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- The Oxford comma as a house style
- Chicago Manual serial commas versus Associated Press practice