Adrian Try said on 03.04.2007 14:02:
Hi again
BTW: Your signature is missing a comma before the "and":
--> Computer software should be affordable, effective, and safe.
^
http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/#26 - see "2)"
Thanks very much for the correction. I wonder if the grammar checker
that many people are asking for would have helped?
It's interesting - I was taught at school not to use a comma before the
"and" in a list. Wikipedia raises an interesting issue: the rule you
mention is definitely true with American English, but not necessarily so
outside of America. It is an issue of much debate. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma
I'll leave the comma out for the moment (apologies to all Americans),
and I'll keep my eyes open to see what the main usage is here in Australia.
Did you read the explanation in my link above why a serial comma avoids
ambiguity:
"In...formal writing..., the 'serial' or 'series' comma is ordinarily
retained before the conjunction that joins the last item in a sequence
of three or more words or phrases--'hither, thither, and yon'; 'of the
people, by the people, and for the people.' I stoutly defend the use of
the serial comma because I have found that in many sentences the comma
before the conjunction is an aid to clarity and emphasis. Consider these
examples:
'For dinner, the Girl Scouts ate steak, onions and ice cream.'
'For dinner, the Girl Scouts ate steak, onions, and ice cream.'
'We believe in freedom, justice and equality.'
'We believe in freedom, justice, and equality.'
The first sentence sounds as if the Scouts devoured a yucky concoction
of onions and (urp!) ice cream. The serial comma in the second sentence
avoids such gastronomic ambiguity. In the third sentence, the rhythm of
the series sounds jerky to the ear, while the serial comma in the fourth
helps the final term, equality, to ring out as loudly as the others. So
don't be commatose. Use your comma sense and press into service the
serial comma" (Lederer, Richard. Adventures of a Verbivore 225).
http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/#26
--
Regards,
Peter Reaper
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