# Serial comma commentary



## David Baxter PhD (Sep 5, 2009)

Serial comma commentary
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 

I?m a big fan of the serial comma, and the _Chicago Manual of Style_ (see also the online version) now ?strongly recommends this widely practiced usage, blessed by Fowler and other authorities?, since it prevents ambiguity.?  

Here?s an example from _The Times_ that shows what can happen without the serial comma: 

_?By train, plane and sedan chair, Peter Ustinov retraces a journey made by Mark Twain a century ago. The highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector.? _​Perhaps the most famous example of why the serial comma should be used is this apocryphal book dedication: 

_?To my parents, Ayn Rand and God.? _​
For the origins of these two examples, see this 2006 Language Log post and this 2003 Language Hat post.

So writes researcher Lisa Gold.


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## Meg (Sep 6, 2009)

Thank you! 

I know the serial comma as the 'Oxford comma' and I am also a big fan.  I am enough of a punctuation nerd that I actually read a book about it.  I tend to get a bit excited when I find someone who cares too :blush:


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## Mari (Sep 6, 2009)

Oh dear, I love that site. I want to win a T-shirt.  Mari


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## Into The Light (Sep 6, 2009)

meg, i care too . lots of people don't understand the importance of the comma.  "U R not alone" :lol: (don't give me an infraction for txt spk! )


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## Meg (Sep 6, 2009)

:2thumbs:

Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quite an entertaining read


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## Into The Light (Sep 6, 2009)

that is funny meg :lol:


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## David Baxter PhD (Sep 6, 2009)

Meg said:


> Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



I love that joke. Except the original didn't have a comma after "eats"...


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## Meg (Sep 6, 2009)

Hehe :teehee:

I loved the book.  My copy even came with a 'punctuation repair kit'.  This kit consists of several pages of stickers of punctuation marks in various sizes that are intended for use by punctuation vigilantes on store signs.  I can't say that there are any empty spaces in mine, though.  While funny, it is perhaps a little on the extreme side.


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