Why do People Misuse the Oxford Comma?

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245

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  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    ,
  • lickmybaconcakes
    lickmybaconcakes Posts: 1,063 Member
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    It is not neccesary that grammar Nazis thank me.

    http://www.ox.ac.uk/branding_toolkit/writing_and_style_guide/punctuation.html#athe_comma
  • Krizzle4Rizzle
    Krizzle4Rizzle Posts: 2,704 Member
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    *raises hand* I abuse the oxford comma, but I have been working on my grammar and spelling.
  • maletac
    maletac Posts: 767 Member
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    'Let's eat Grandma!' or, 'Let's eat, Grandma!'

    Punctuation saves lives.

    ???????????????????????????
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Either way, JFK and Stalin aren't going to show up.
  • CaWaterBug8
    CaWaterBug8 Posts: 1,040 Member
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    jfk.jpg

    :love:
  • legmotor
    legmotor Posts: 197 Member
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    'Let's eat Grandma!' or, 'Let's eat, Grandma!'

    Punctuation saves lives.

    ???????????????????????????

    ummmm...
  • CountryBoy65
    CountryBoy65 Posts: 908 Member
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    The serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma, and sometimes referred to as the series comma) is the comma used immediately before a coordinating conjunction (usually and or or, and sometimes nor) preceding the final item in a list of three or more items. For example, a list of three countries can be punctuated as either "Portugal, Spain, and France" (with the serial comma) or as "Portugal, Spain and France" (without the serial comma).[1][2][3]

    Opinions vary among writers and editors on the usage or avoidance of the serial comma. In American English, the serial comma is standard usage in non-journalistic writing that follows the Chicago Manual of Style.[4] Journalists, however, usually follow the AP Stylebook, which advises against it. It is used less often in British English,[5][6] where it is standard usage to leave it out, with some notable exceptions such as Fowler's Modern English Usage.[7] In many languages (e.g. Danish,[8] French,[9] German,[10] Greek,[11] Italian,[12] Polish,[13] Spanish[14]) the serial comma is not the norm and may even go against punctuation rules. It may be recommended in many cases, however, to avoid ambiguity or to aid prosody.

    **moist**

    Give me your number, we can talk prepositional phrases.

    Or Dangling Participles....
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
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    I would comment, but I take my punctuation very seriously.

    It could start a fight.

    Fixed it for you. :flowerforyou:
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Meh. Puncuation confuses me to no end. I would rather be learning Partial Differential Equations and Atmospheric Dynamics. So I use the "when in doubt use a comma" rule.
  • Adynata
    Adynata Posts: 128 Member
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    I do use the Oxford comma, but it's not standard use in the UK. I occasionally worry that I'll get penalised for it in essays but, you know, **** the system and all that.

    What you should really be complaining about is the horrible use of the comma splice! =P.
  • Lissakaye81
    Lissakaye81 Posts: 224 Member
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    jfk.jpg

    But, I prefer stripper Stalin to real Stalin.
    HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I love it :)
  • MrsM1ggins
    MrsM1ggins Posts: 724 Member
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    I was buying a box of Complan for my mum today. According to the box it's "Available in Original, Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Banana & Chicken"

    I bet the Banana & Chicken variety is delightful.
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    Either way, JFK and Stalin aren't going to show up.
    Word.

    And come on - people struggle with spelling lose and loose correctly here. They can't even tell you where Oxford is, never mind why they misuse its comma.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    It may have influenced to do with where one was schooled. In my case, that was Bermuda, US, and Canada so I've learned a few different "right" ways.

    My preference is the Oxford comma but the few times I've been called on to edit other people's work, I use the standard American version.

    The comma is the least of the worries. Try dealing with innumeracy.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    Either way, JFK and Stalin aren't going to show up.
    Word.

    And come on - people struggle with spelling lose and loose correctly here. They can't even tell you where Oxford is, never mind why they misuse its comma.

    "Oxford? Jess head on up to Batesville and go t'ord Tupelo on 51. Can't miss it."
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
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    to get, to the, other side.
  • MikeSEA
    MikeSEA Posts: 1,074 Member
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    Ahh, but what do you have to say about the use of "they" when attempting to refer to a single subject without implying gender? I had a professor who would call it an error of incomplete enumeration. I, on the other hand, think that if we can accept "you" as a singular and plural second-person pronoun, surely we can accept "they" as a non-gendered single third-person pronoun.

    Though I do get annoyed that compose and comprise are apparently interchangeable in common usage.
  • CandaceyD
    CandaceyD Posts: 74
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    I don't know why people misuse it. Probably because their parent's didn't smack their hands with a ruler when they were learning grammar like mine did. Or because defying grammar rules makes them feel like they're living life on the edge.
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
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    I was taught this, this, and this. My brain does this, this and this. Even after reading this I still do not know which is right, but I am extremely hungry and can't concentrate.

    :laugh:

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