In a sentence with a list of three or more items, the Oxford comma is the comma you place right before the coordinating conjunction and last item in the list. It is also known as a serial comma, a series comma, or a Harvard comma. The Oxford comma is considered optional by American English language grammarians.

Is Oxford comma British or American?

Serial/Oxford Comma

Despite being named after a British University, the Oxford comma (the comma used before “and” in lists (e.g., I like wookies, ewoks, and droids)) is not considered standard in UK English because only one style guide (Oxford) recommends it.

Why you shouldn't use the Oxford comma?

Why don't they use it? Many opponents of the Oxford comma claim that it makes a piece of writing sound more pretentious and stuffy, and that it can make things seem cluttered and redundant. Many magazine publishers renounce its use as well, because sentences loaded with commas take up valuable page space.

What are Oxford commas used for?

The Oxford comma is the comma placed before the conjunction at the end of a list of things. For example, in “the flag was red, white, and blue”, the Oxford comma would be the one appearing before “and”. Proponents of the Oxford comma say it's necessary for removing ambiguity in sentences.

Is the Oxford comma unprofessional?

While the Oxford comma is technically grammatically correct, it is most often unnecessary and pointless. Thus, writers and editors should eliminate the comma unless it is absolutely essential for comprehension.

Grammar's great divide: The Oxford comma - TED-Ed

Does the New York Times use the Oxford comma?

(In most cases, The Times stylebook discourages the serial comma, often called the Oxford comma because it was traditionally used by the Oxford University Press.)

Why is the Oxford comma controversial?

This practice is controversial and is known as the serial comma or Oxford comma, because it is part of the house style of Oxford University Press." There are cases in which the use of the serial comma can avoid ambiguity and also instances in which its use can introduce ambiguity.

Is the Oxford comma used in Australia?

In Australia, most style guides recommend leaving out the Oxford comma. However, public service style guides, for example, allow them to be used where confusion could arise or where the items in the list are more complicated than simple one-word names. In other words, a fair amount of judgement is involved.

Is the Oxford comma essential or obsolete?

Sometimes, many people argue, the Oxford comma isn't just a stylistic feature, but an essential one, as the meaning of a sentence can be altered without it. It is therefore important for removing potential ambiguity that can spoil the clarity and elegance of your writing.

Do Lawyers use the Oxford comma?

Lawyers should use the Oxford comma to help avoid ambiguity. Three ambiguities may arise without this comma: Whether the two final items in a list are one combined element or separate. Whether one noun phrase modifies the others when there are two or more noun phrases next to each other in a list.

Why do people like Oxford comma?

Proponents say it provides clarity, and critics say it provides redundancy. It goes by “serial” and “Oxford,” for the Oxford University Press style guide, which advocates for the serial comma (even though it's generally more common in American English usage than British English).

Do people in the UK use the Oxford comma?

British and American English both use the Oxford comma like this, but they differ on when it is used: Typically, in British English, we only use an Oxford comma when a list would be unclear without one, such as in the example sentence above. In American English, it is often standard to use an Oxford comma in lists.

What do Brits call commas?

The Serial/Oxford Comma

The serial comma (also known as the “Oxford comma” in the UK) is a comma placed before the last item in a list of three or more things. Most American English style guides recommend using this comma as standard: I believe in good spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Does Cambridge use Oxford comma?

In its own text, the guide by Cambridge omits serial commas; Oxford's retains them. So for British English, use serial commas or omit them, but do so consistently. And if you go without, make sure to add a comma wherever its absence might create ambiguity.

Does Chicago style use Oxford comma?

Chicago has a few rules about commas that are easy to overlook. The most important is that Chicago “strongly recommends” using a serial (or Oxford) comma for lists of three or more items.

Should Dr have a full stop Australia?

The difference here is that Australian English does not place a full stop after a title when it ends with the same letter as the full version (e.g. 'Mr', 'Mrs' or 'Dr'), whereas American English does: Australian English: Mr and Mrs Douglas walked home. American English: Mr.

What is the difference between an Oxford comma and a regular comma?

The main difference between Oxford comma and comma is that an Oxford comma refers to a comma that usually comes before the final conjunction of a sentence, while a regular comma is a punctuation mark that depicts the divisions in a particular sentence.

Do you need a full stop after Mr and Mrs?

Note carefully the use of full stops in these abbreviations. British usage favours omitting the full stop in abbreviations which include the first and last letters of a single word, such as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr and St; American usage prefers (A) Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. and St., with full stops.

How does a comma cost a million?

For those of you who don't believe punctuation matters, here's a news flash; indeed, it does. In one particular case a comma cost Maine's Oakhurst Dairy $5 million dollars at the conclusion of a $10 million dollar lawsuit that hinged on overtime pay.

Why is it called the Oxford comma?

The Oxford Dictionary's website defines the Oxford comma as, an optional comma before the word 'and' at the end of a list… it's known as the Oxford comma because it was traditionally used by printers, readers, and editors at Oxford University Press.

Who created the em dash?

Martha Nell Smith, a professor of English at the University of Maryland and the author of five books on the poet Emily Dickinson (the original em dash obsessive), said that Dickinson used the dash to “highlight the ambiguity of the written word.” “The dash is an invitation to the reader to make meaning,” Dr.

Why do Americans say period?

In 19th-century texts, both British English and American English were consistent in their usage of the terms period and full stop. The word period was used as a name for what printers often called the "full point", the punctuation mark that was a dot on the baseline and used in several situations.

Why are people talking about the Oxford comma?

The blue-blood punctuation mark, named after the Oxford University Press, acts as a social signifier, a sieve for the bookish and studious (and, perhaps, pretentious). It suggests personality traits that extend far beyond punctuation preferences. There are other ways of doing this in your Tinder profile, of course.

What is the difference between American and British punctuation?

Period and comma: In British English, the period and comma are placed outside quotation marks. However, if the punctuation mark is a part of the quote itself, then the quotation mark is placed after the period or comma. In American English, the period and comma are always placed inside quotation marks.

Why are there no commas in legal documents?

Punctuation was traditionally omitted in legal documents and this practise is continued by many Will and Trust drafters. Drafters prefer instead to use underlining or spacing to avoid the ordinary use of commas. The traditional exclusion rests on a precedent both ancient and authoritative.