Serial Commas: Like Locking Your Front Door
I wanted to discuss an issue that came up during some editing I was doing for my boss a little while ago. The non-use of the Oxford or "serial" comma. Just in case you have no idea what this is, or at least that it has a name, let me explain.
I think that a lot of people were taught, or at least have noticed, at some point in their life that a comma is ‘supposed’ to be placed before the final conjunction in a list of items.
For instance:
“I went to Kroger to buy peanuts, ray guns, and space ships.”
“I like long walks on the beach, aggressive s*xual intercourse, and having my skin scraped with pine cones.”
“The flag of the United States of America is red, white, and blue.”
What I’ve been hearing lately is that this comma is not to be used. My boss even told me that was the only “flaw” he saw in my editing skills was that I tend to want to keep the serial comma whenever a list of three or more items is present.
Now, as a preference, I could care less. I tend to be the type of copy editor that makes suggestions to writers, as opposed to making demands of them.
But, to make it a rule that one NEVER uses the Oxford comma, in some instances, can prove problematic.
Take the following sentences, for examples.
1. I want to ask my co-workers, Lavelle and Katina.
2. I’m going to need some hot peppers, cold macaroni and cheese to finish this dish.
3. We always invite Carter, a lumber salesman and my father to my birthday parties.
In sentence 1, are Lavelle and Katina my co-workers, or am I asking my co-workers (as a single unit), and Lavelle and Katina (because they aren’t my co-workers, but I want to ask them as well)?
Concerning sentence 2, do I need cold pasta and (room temperature) cheese to finish the dish, or do I need a cold dish of macaroni and cheese?
And in sentence 3, is Carter a lumber salesman and my father? Or is Carter a lumber salesman, but not my father? Or are Carter, a lumber salesman, and my father all three different people that we invite to birthday parties?
So, without the serial comma (in sentences like these) there is quite a bit of room for misinterpretations. I, as a reader, don’t know if you left out the serial comma because of this ‘new’ rule, or if you meant for there to not be a final comma (i.e., Lavelle and Katina are the names of the co-workers you want to ask).
My thought is, we should reserve the non-use of the serial comma for instances in which, of course, it is not meant to be there—when there is no series. This way, when the comma is left off, it is very clear that the author (typos aside) actually meant to do so in order to invoke a specific understanding of the sentence (i.e., that Carter really is both my father and a lumber salesman).
I’ve come up with an analogy to help clarify the concept of consistently using the Oxford comma.
Think about locking your front door each day. For most people who live in a relatively safe suburb somewhere, what is the realistic chance that someone is going to (1) break into your house at all and (2) go through the front door of your house—which is facing the street, highly visible by neighbors and any random person driving / past? Half a percent? Maybe 1 percent?
And yet, most people that live under those circumstances (in the United States, anyway) tend to lock their front door whenever they leave the house, without question. It’s a habit! There’s a small chance that it could be problematic to NOT lock your front door, but rather than take even that tiny chance, you just simply make it a habit to lock your front door whenever you leave.
I believe the same principle applies to the use of the Oxford comma. It’s not like using it will make your sentences LESS clear, so why not do it? In my mind, it’s a lot better than running the risk that you’ve written a sentence like one of my three examples and someone becomes confused about what it is that you meant when you wrote it. I think I’d rather err on the side of being “too clear” (whatever THAT means) than being ambiguous (unintentionally, anyway).
I'll also note that I understand that not using the serial comma my come into play while writing in certain publications such as magazines and newspapers because there can sometimes be space limitations involved and a single character can make the difference between something needing to take up 1, versus 2, pages / columns / lines. I have no qualms with this practice.
Also, I’ve added the work of an author friend to my aStore on Amazon. His name is Christopher Kokoski and his newest work is entitled “Dark Halo”. I haven’t started reading it yet because I’m currently helping him edit another piece, but I’ve heard from other’s that it’s good. You can find it here. Thanks!
I think that a lot of people were taught, or at least have noticed, at some point in their life that a comma is ‘supposed’ to be placed before the final conjunction in a list of items.
For instance:
“I went to Kroger to buy peanuts, ray guns, and space ships.”
“I like long walks on the beach, aggressive s*xual intercourse, and having my skin scraped with pine cones.”
“The flag of the United States of America is red, white, and blue.”
What I’ve been hearing lately is that this comma is not to be used. My boss even told me that was the only “flaw” he saw in my editing skills was that I tend to want to keep the serial comma whenever a list of three or more items is present.
Now, as a preference, I could care less. I tend to be the type of copy editor that makes suggestions to writers, as opposed to making demands of them.
But, to make it a rule that one NEVER uses the Oxford comma, in some instances, can prove problematic.
Take the following sentences, for examples.
1. I want to ask my co-workers, Lavelle and Katina.
2. I’m going to need some hot peppers, cold macaroni and cheese to finish this dish.
3. We always invite Carter, a lumber salesman and my father to my birthday parties.
In sentence 1, are Lavelle and Katina my co-workers, or am I asking my co-workers (as a single unit), and Lavelle and Katina (because they aren’t my co-workers, but I want to ask them as well)?
Concerning sentence 2, do I need cold pasta and (room temperature) cheese to finish the dish, or do I need a cold dish of macaroni and cheese?
And in sentence 3, is Carter a lumber salesman and my father? Or is Carter a lumber salesman, but not my father? Or are Carter, a lumber salesman, and my father all three different people that we invite to birthday parties?
So, without the serial comma (in sentences like these) there is quite a bit of room for misinterpretations. I, as a reader, don’t know if you left out the serial comma because of this ‘new’ rule, or if you meant for there to not be a final comma (i.e., Lavelle and Katina are the names of the co-workers you want to ask).
My thought is, we should reserve the non-use of the serial comma for instances in which, of course, it is not meant to be there—when there is no series. This way, when the comma is left off, it is very clear that the author (typos aside) actually meant to do so in order to invoke a specific understanding of the sentence (i.e., that Carter really is both my father and a lumber salesman).
I’ve come up with an analogy to help clarify the concept of consistently using the Oxford comma.
Think about locking your front door each day. For most people who live in a relatively safe suburb somewhere, what is the realistic chance that someone is going to (1) break into your house at all and (2) go through the front door of your house—which is facing the street, highly visible by neighbors and any random person driving / past? Half a percent? Maybe 1 percent?
And yet, most people that live under those circumstances (in the United States, anyway) tend to lock their front door whenever they leave the house, without question. It’s a habit! There’s a small chance that it could be problematic to NOT lock your front door, but rather than take even that tiny chance, you just simply make it a habit to lock your front door whenever you leave.
I believe the same principle applies to the use of the Oxford comma. It’s not like using it will make your sentences LESS clear, so why not do it? In my mind, it’s a lot better than running the risk that you’ve written a sentence like one of my three examples and someone becomes confused about what it is that you meant when you wrote it. I think I’d rather err on the side of being “too clear” (whatever THAT means) than being ambiguous (unintentionally, anyway).
I'll also note that I understand that not using the serial comma my come into play while writing in certain publications such as magazines and newspapers because there can sometimes be space limitations involved and a single character can make the difference between something needing to take up 1, versus 2, pages / columns / lines. I have no qualms with this practice.
Also, I’ve added the work of an author friend to my aStore on Amazon. His name is Christopher Kokoski and his newest work is entitled “Dark Halo”. I haven’t started reading it yet because I’m currently helping him edit another piece, but I’ve heard from other’s that it’s good. You can find it here. Thanks!
