My favorite cheeses are Gouda, Havarti, and Brie. The Oxford comma, also called the serial comma or Harvard comma, is a much-debated piece of punctuation that occurs just before a coordinating conjunction in a series of three or more items.įor instance, in the below sentence, the Oxford comma is placed before and: With no Oxford comma following packing for shipment, it is unclear whether the law exempts the distribution of the three categories that follow or whether it exempts only the packing of the items in preparation for their shipment or distribution.Ĭlear as milk? (Get it? Because it's a dairy company?) Learn a bit more about what the Oxford comma is, where it came from, and why it's so important below. The law declares that overtime rules do not apply to the following: "The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce (2) Meat and fish products and (3) Perishable foods." The comma in question (or rather, the missing comma in question) gained notoriety due to its absence from a state law. In 2017, the Oxford comma shot into stardom after becoming the crux of a $10 million class-action lawsuit against a Maine dairy company. No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma, but if people started to we wouldn't object.įor more Ask the Editor videos, visit 's not often that a piece of punctuation makes national headlines, so when one does, you know it must be pretty important. Dictionaries have also traditionally been concerned with space, but we at Merriam-Webster use the serial comma. Newspapers have traditionally done without it as a way to save space. The recipe calls for sugar, butter, cream, salt and vanilla. The house has a big yard, small kitchen and few windows. In many cases though, no ambiguity arises: Where without the comma it sounds like Ayn Rand and God are the ones who begot the author.Īnd then there is the real example from text about a documentary on the late Merle Haggard:Īmong those interviewed, were his two-ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall. I would like to thank my parents, Ayn Rand and God. There is the likely fictitious example of a book dedication: It is up to you, but be aware that not using the serial comma can result in some ambiguity. Publishers typically take a stand on whether or not to use it, and writers tend to feel strongly one way or the other. It's also called the Harvard comma and the Oxford comma because it is used by the publishers associated with those universities. It's most commonly called the serial comma. There is several names for the comma that separates the second to last item in a list from a final item that is introduced by and or or. But that last comma is shrouded in controversy. I love nouns, verbs, adjective, and adverbs. We all know that commas separate items in a list. I'm Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster. Are the serial comma and the Oxford comma the same thing? What's the Harvard comma, and how many non-Harvard alumni use that term? The answers are in this video. Emily Brewster is here to help you navigate them. Love it or hate it, the serial comma arouses strong feelings.
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