Comments on: What is the Oxford Comma? Examples and How to Use It

By: Jo

Jo — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 13:16:28 +0000

Great article!

By: Donna Levin

Donna Levin — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 08:30:10 +0000

Long live the Oxford comma. In addition to the instances here where it’s necessary for clarity, I like the *consistency* of using it even when it’s not. I’m a little OCD that way.

By: Barbara Barrows

Barbara Barrows — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 18:24:03 +0000

On the other hand, the lack of the Oxford comma cost this dairy 5 million. So they are crucial in contracts. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/think-commas-don-t-matter-omitting-one-cost-maine-dairy-n847151

By: Michael Abrahams

Michael Abrahams — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 18:16:52 +0000

Thank you for this clarifying article. I always use the Oxford comma, but now I feel more confident using it.

By: Dawn Miller

Dawn Miller — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 17:02:26 +0000

This is an excellent article. The bottom line is to use the comma when it clarifies meaning: On the grocery list I found eggs, crackers and cheese. As I stand staring at the boxes of crackers, I wonder. Should I get a box of crackers and go to the dairy aisle for cheese? Or should I buy the single box of crackers that has a cheese product included? I can get in a lot of trouble at home if I bring the wrong thing. Are ‘crackers and cheese’ one item for a lunch box? Are we entertaining with a cheese plate with crackers? Use a comma.

By: Janes (Jim) Hovendick

Janes (Jim) Hovendick — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 20:45:40 +0000

I took sophomore English when I was a senior in 1951. We learned that it was just beginning to be optional to drop the comma after next to last item of a list and before the conjunction word.
I chose to always use it, the comma unless the last item was two whatever that went together. The comma went before those two items of course.
This was a school in Nebraska.

By: Phyllis Doyle Burns

Phyllis Doyle Burns — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:47:54 +0000

This is a great article on the Oxford comma. It clarifies what the Oxford comma is, how to use it, and the difference it makes in sentences. Thank you for sharing this important information, Sean.

By: Akua

Akua — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 19:19:42 +0000

This is insightful. In the 1970s and 80s, we were taught to list items by joining the last two words with only “and” without a comma. After reading this piece, it now makes sense why Grammarly always insists on a comma before the “and in the list of items. Yes, indeed, the comma brings clarity and much better understanding when a sentence contains a list of items, and I now know that it is called an “Oxford comma.”