I think the George and Pete example gives you a wonderful clue about the importance of the comma as an inclusive/exclusive marker. It's flexibility is marvelous. And I personally hate the rule that we have to give up the comma in the last measure of the series. I write: "I bought cheese, lettuce, bread, and butter." Especially if bread is in aisle 17a and butter is in aisle 2. From perusing student papers to editing professional ones, I think the trend is to overuse the comma horribly. Everything turns into an aside, even when items are clearly of equal standing: "The main meal, as well as the dessert, was, in my opinion, excellently prepared, and presented." Bleah. My eyes are aching.
Sarah On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 9:53 AM, Dave Henn <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm a big fan of the serial comma, but I think it's very important to > be consistent whichever way you swing. If I know a writer does or > doesn't use the serial comma, then I can watch for ambiguity. > Professionally, comma use is actually very, very important in patent > drafting. Improper comma placement can have a devastating impact on > scope, meaning, and interpretation of the legal protection afforded by > a given patent. > > Then there is the panda that eats shoots and leaves, or eats, shoots, > and leaves. > > On Friday, July 1, 2011, Eric Scoles <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Nah, it was just a style guide for Oxford University's marketing group, > not the Oxford University Press style guide. > > But it's amazing how people react to this. I favor the oxford comma > myself, but can't tell you how many times I've had people angrily strike it > out on manuscripts. > > > > > > Personally I don't care if it disappears from some style guide somewhere. > I'll still use it: it's a lawful piece of punctuation that generally does no > harm and occasionally enhances clarity. Plus, sometimes it enhances the > rhythm. > > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 6:09 AM, Alicia Henn < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/06/30/137525211/going-going-and-gone-no-the-oxford-comma-is-safe-for-now > > > > No more serial commas?? I may faint. > > > > Alicia > > > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. > > > > > > > > -- > > --eric scoles | [email protected] > > > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. > > > > > -- > Dave Henn > [email protected] > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en.
