Why do People Misuse the Oxford Comma?

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  • greenmm25
    greenmm25 Posts: 175 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.
    Yes! thats my reason too!
  • nikki778
    nikki778 Posts: 148 Member
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    *singing boy george*

    Comma Comma Comma Comma comma common mistakes,.. of the oxford comma,.. Of the oxford cooooooom~maaaaaa
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 253
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    On the off-chance I wish to combine orange juice and toast, then what?

    Never mind. That will never happen, but I'll always want to know!

    Everyone is going to assume three separate entities. Eggs, toast, and orange juice are standard breakfast foods. However, should I say, "I'll have a brownie, cake, and ice cream, then someone would certainly put the ice cream on top or touching the cake.

    I would then reply, "Didn't you hear my comma between the cake and ice cream, you ninny! Perhaps, if you didn't have strippers in your restaurant, there would be better service!"
  • danoprince
    danoprince Posts: 23
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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.


    The same reason you can't explain why there are umpteen nomenclature systems for organic compounds. Everyone is educated in different areas. Just because you can identify one of your pet peeves and then Google it to make your point doesn't mean you're any more intelligent than people that "misuse the Oxford comma."

    I can only guess that if one were to go back and edit your previous 279 posts that there would be numerous grammar and spelling errors that might annoy the piss out of the editor.

    Either way, nice suit.
  • bbbgamer
    bbbgamer Posts: 582 Member
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    On the off-chance I wish to combine orange juice and toast, then what?

    Never mind. That will never happen, but I'll always want to know!

    Everyone is going to assume three separate entities. Eggs, toast, and orange juice are standard breakfast foods. However, should I say, "I'll have a brownie, cake, and ice cream, then someone would certainly put the ice cream on top or touching the cake.

    I would then reply, "Didn't you hear my comma between the cake and ice cream, you ninny! Perhaps, if you didn't have strippers in your restaurant, there would be better service!"

    Damn, just when I thought I had this figured out!
  • TheBakerGirl
    TheBakerGirl Posts: 151
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    On the off-chance I wish to combine orange juice and toast, then what?

    Never mind. That will never happen, but I'll always want to know!

    Everyone is going to assume three separate entities. Eggs, toast, and orange juice are standard breakfast foods. However, should I say, "I'll have a brownie, cake, and ice cream, then someone would certainly put the ice cream on top or touching the cake.

    I would then reply, "Didn't you hear my comma between the cake and ice cream, you ninny! Perhaps, if you didn't have strippers in your restaurant, there would be better service!"

    brownie? and cake? and ice cream? please remember to log that in your diary. :wink:
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
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    I'm still waiting for the practical application of sentence diagraming, in my day to day life. This is all beyond my comprehension....

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTzQlvC98sWqkl9-BuqHv2sNo9YUNqcPwvTEzcHBNzGeFPoyHuE1A
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 253
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    On the off-chance I wish to combine orange juice and toast, then what?

    Never mind. That will never happen, but I'll always want to know!

    Everyone is going to assume three separate entities. Eggs, toast, and orange juice are standard breakfast foods. However, should I say, "I'll have a brownie, cake, and ice cream, then someone would certainly put the ice cream on top or touching the cake.

    I would then reply, "Didn't you hear my comma between the cake and ice cream, you ninny! Perhaps, if you didn't have strippers in your restaurant, there would be better service!"

    Damn, just when I thought I had this figured out!

    :laugh:
  • danoprince
    danoprince Posts: 23
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    *singing boy george*

    Comma Comma Comma Comma comma common mistakes,.. of the oxford comma,.. Of the oxford cooooooom~maaaaaa


    This, is funny.
  • cruiseking
    cruiseking Posts: 338 Member
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    I thought diagramming sentences was fun!

    But I'm waiting for a person of importance, or a person in deep despair to utter these words; "Quick I need these sentences diagrammed IMMEDIATELY!". As if the future of the world, depended on it. And if the future of the world depended on ME doing the diagramming, we are screwed!
  • bbbgamer
    bbbgamer Posts: 582 Member
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    I thought diagramming sentences was fun!

    But I'm waiting for a person of importance, or a person in deep despair to utter these words; "Quick I need these sentences diagrammed IMMEDIATELY!". As if the future of the world, depended on it. And if the future of the world depended on ME doing the diagramming, we are screwed!

    Can we get a ruling on proper comma usage on the last two sentences here??

    and the first??
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 253
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    On the off-chance I wish to combine orange juice and toast, then what?

    Never mind. That will never happen, but I'll always want to know!

    Everyone is going to assume three separate entities. Eggs, toast, and orange juice are standard breakfast foods. However, should I say, "I'll have a brownie, cake, and ice cream, then someone would certainly put the ice cream on top or touching the cake.

    I would then reply, "Didn't you hear my comma between the cake and ice cream, you ninny! Perhaps, if you didn't have strippers in your restaurant, there would be better service!"

    brownie? and cake? and ice cream? please remember to log that in your diary. :wink:

    Ha! Spoken like a true MFPer. I LIKE IT!:wink:
  • KatKatatrophic
    KatKatatrophic Posts: 448 Member
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    I'm a "Grammar Nazi". I've never heard that term....or the Oxford Comma. I mean, why don't they just call it a comma? It's not THAT hard, haha. I also don't like the word "lol", but I will use it occasionally.
    Remember, when combining two sentences, use a conjunction like I did. Fifth sentence shows two sentences: I also don't like the word "lol" and but I will use it occasionally.
    Combining those with "but", I get that sentence up there. Use the comma, young ones. It makes you sound educated. If you want to find out if you can use a conjunction to combine two sentences, take the two sentences you find suitable for a conjunction. Say them separately like a sentence.
    Example:
    1. I also don't like the word "lol".
    2. But I will use it occasionally.
    Can the second sentence be said normally like a real sentence? If the answer is yes, then find the appropriate conjunction: and, or, or but.

    I was an overachiever in English, and I felt like giving you an English lesson today.
  • paisley2288
    paisley2288 Posts: 913 Member
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    I'm sorry. I thought my English class was on Mondays.
  • sjtreely
    sjtreely Posts: 1,014 Member
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    If what I learned is true, it goes back to hand typesetting for newspapers. It was a time saving strategy as each letter and punctuation mark made for a tedious task when setting up a page to be printed.

    They must have figured people reading the newspaper were smart enough to understand the meaning of the print without the Oxford comma.
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
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    tumblr_m0njbgLx5o1qjnt6eo1_500.jpg
  • wittlelacey
    wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
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    I love this post. I just finished a psychology paper and proudly utilized the oxford comma. I've been executing this since the third grade and I won't stop now!
  • margebouvier
    margebouvier Posts: 12 Member
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    I am siding with my favorite Vampire Weekend song of the same name....
  • amurret
    amurret Posts: 3
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    Yeah good point @ taso42 and coryida... I never knew what that was called actually, but I remember in school I was always taught that usage of the last comma was incorrect in the English language. I have recently noticed it being used in publications (recently aka 5-10 years) and was wondering why??? I am in the habit of not using it, but I actually like it better, and it is more logical for clarity...

    Then again, it doesn't really matter 95% of the time, because the point is made either way... but what I want to know is, why the F was I taught that all through my school years, when it never made sense then, and still doesn't now???
  • 12skipafew99100
    12skipafew99100 Posts: 1,669 Member
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    I use an and instead of the serial comma, Always have.

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