Last week we discussed commas in their basic usage — to join clauses. This week we’ll talk about using them in lists. Now, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who love the Oxford (serial) comma, and those who don’t. I’m in the former camp. I find that the Oxford comma brings much more clarity to a sentence, even if we’re expected to assume the last item in the list is indeed part of the list — comma or no comma. For example:
“I like reading, writing, dancing, and drawing.”
Each item in the list is separated by a comma. Each comma can be assumed to mean “and.” However, we don’t write sentences that read like this:
“I like reading and writing and dancing and drawing.”
That’s just not proper. You could also write it this way:
“I like reading, writing, dancing and drawing.”
Sometimes, however, you’ll find that omitting the last comma leads to confusion. For example:
“I have three kinds of pizza including pepperoni, sausage and pepper and mushroom.”
What have I done here? I’ve left you wondering what the second and third pizzas are. Do we have sausage and pepper? Or do we have just plain old sausage? Do we have pepper and mushroom? Or just mushrooms? This is why I opt to always use the last comma. If you get into a habit of omitting that final comma, you may find yourself confusing your reader — not good if you’re submitting a paper for a grade or a business proposal. We’re not taking out an ad in the paper, nor are we confined by the editor’s need to save space for all the articles. In the digital age, we have more than enough room on the screen for that last comma. On a paper, your teacher or professor is counting words, not characters. If you’ve never been really sure about commas in lists, start practicing writing lists today. Take the Oxford comma out for a try. You may just find out what a lovely little partner it can be in all your sentences.
