The Case of the Serial Comma--Solved!

The Case of the Serial Comma

The=20 Mystery Solved | A = Puzzle=20 Remains | The = Wrong=20 "Wrong Rule" | The=20 Authorities Speak! | The=20 Letters

The Mystery Solved

Dear Readers,=20

Many thanks to all who responded to my plea for help in tracing = the=20 origin of the Wrong = Rule about=20 omitting the final comma in a series ("red, white and blue" = instead of=20 "red, white, and blue"). Your letters and my further research have = revealed this: The only authorities who = advocate=20 omitting the final comma are newspaper style guides (which wish to = save=20 column space) and some English writers (who waffle on the rule).=20

My original assertion stands, with minor = qualifications:=20 Except for journalists, all American = authorities say to use the final serial comma: "He went to the = store=20 to buy milk, butter, and eggs."

The reason for the final serial comma is to prevent the last 2 = items'=20 being confused as a unit (butter-and-eggs).

A Puzzle Remains

I am still puzzled that the serial comma error has been so = universally=20 promulgated. People who know nothing else about punctuation recite = this error with conviction, which says something ominous = about=20 the state of English language instruction. Why have many English = teachers=20 taught this wrong rule? Are they truly unaware that press style is = for=20 journalists and that we have a wealth of better authoriti= es=20 for standard American usage?

People Know the Wrong "Wrong Rule"

Complicating matters, most people remember a misleadingly = simplified=20 version of the wrong rule: "You don't need a comma before = and."=20 This assumption leads people to make yet another punctuation error = =97 to=20 omit the necessary comma in a compound sentence, as these examples=20 illustrate.

For the record, I include the original letter and my response, = as well=20 as several subsequent letters, which enlightened me and inspired = my=20 further study. But first, here is what the authorities have to = say.

Authorities on the Serial Comma

Wilson Follett, Modern American = Usage: A=20 Guide. Edited and completed by Jacques Barzun in=20 collaboration with Carlos Baker, Frederick W. Dupee, Dudley Fitts, = James=20 D. Hart, Phyllis McGinley, and Lionel Trilling. NY: Hill & = Wang, Inc.,=20 1966, pages 397-401.

Follett argues for using the final comma. He examines the = reasons for=20 the comma's omission:

What, then, are the arguments for omitting the last comma? = Only=20 one is cogent =97 the saving of space. In the narrow width = of a=20 newspaper column this saving counts for more than elsewhere, = which=20 is why the omission is so nearly universal in journalism. = But here=20 or anywhere one must question whether the advantage = outweighs the=20 confusion caused by the omission.

Having analyzed the confusion created by the comma's omission, = Follett=20 concludes:

The recommendation here is that [writers] use the comma = between=20 all members of a series, including the last two, on the = common-sense=20 ground that to do so will preclude ambiguities and = annoyances at a=20 negligible cost.

This advice is unchanged in the most recent = edition of=20 Modern American Usage (NY: Hill and = Wang, 1998)=20 =97 even though its editor, Erik Wensberg, substantially revised = many of the=20 work's other prescriptions.=20

Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for=20 Writers, 5^th Edition, Chicago: University = of=20 Chicago Press, 1987, Chapter 3.68:=20

A series of three or more words, phrases, or clauses (like = this)=20 takes a comma between each of the elements and before a = conjunction=20 separating the last two:=20

Dishes had been broken, cutlery lost, and carpets = damaged.=20

Chicago Manual of Style,=20 14^th Edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, = 1993,=20 Chapter 5.5:=20

In a series consisting of three or more elements, the = elements=20 are separated by commas. When a conjunction joins the last = two=20 elements in a series, a comma is used before the conjunction = . . .:=20

Attending the conference were Farmer, Johnson, = and=20 Kendrick.
We have a choice of copper, silver, or=20 gold.

William Sabin, Gregg Reference=20 Manual, 8^th Edition, New York: Glencoe, = 1993,=20 paragraph 162:=20

When three or more items are listed in a series, and the = last=20 item is preceded by and, or, or = nor,=20 place a comma before the conjunction as well as between the = other=20 items.=20

Study the rules for the use of the comma, the=20 semicolon, and the = colon.

Council of Biology Editors, = Scientific=20 Style and Format, 6^th Edition, NY: = Cambridge=20 University Press, 1994, Chapter 4.15.6:=20

To separate the elements (words, phrases, clauses) or a = simple=20 series of more than 2 elements. A comma should precede a = closing=20 "and" or "or." This rule applies to adjectives each = modifying the=20 following noun.=20

The tomatoes, beans, and peppers were planted in = April.

[Note: They acknowledge but discourage the omission of the = final comma=20 by some writers.]=20

Strunk and White, Elements of=20 Style, 2^nd Edition, New York: Macmillan, = 1972, Chapter=20 I. Elementary Rules of Usage, Rule 2:

In a series of three or more terms with a single = conjunction,=20 use a comma after each term except the last. Thus write:=20

Red, white, and blue=20
Gold, silver, or copper=20
He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of = its=20 contents.

Go = to Top of=20 Page

The Letters

Dear Miss Grammar,=20

When I was in school, I was taught not to use the comma in a = string of=20 words before the "and." For example: He went to the store to buy = milk,=20 butter and eggs.=20

However, now I've noticed in my children's books they are using = the=20 comma before the "and." Has grammar changed in the last 20 years = or what?=20
=97 Stumped=20

Dear Stumped,=20

We would like to track down the source of the misguided = instruction you=20 and thousands of our students received about omitting the final = comma in a=20 series. All=20 authorities these days (and for many years, one must add) = teach=20 otherwise: "He went to the store to buy milk, butter, and eggs." = The=20 reason for the final serial comma is to prevent the last 2 items = being=20 confused as a unit (butter-and-eggs).=20

Yours is a recurring question, both in our writing classes and = to "Miss=20 Grammar." I just wish I knew how it got started. Did some teacher = think it=20 was "cool" or somehow efficient to leave the final comma out? My=20 associates and I have searched through dozens of texts to find the = source=20 of this persistent non-sense, but without success so far.=20

Thank you for writing.
Miss Grammar=20

Go = to Top of=20 Page=20

Dear Dr. Moody,

Regarding the lack of a final comma in a series, you wrote: "I = just=20 wish I knew how it got started. Did some teacher think it was = 'cool' or=20 somehow efficient to leave the final comma out? My associates and = I have=20 searched through dozens of texts to find the source of this = persistent=20 non-sense, but without success so far."

One of your culprits is the Associated Press Stylebook = (p. 274).=20 "Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a = comma=20 before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white = and=20 blue."

Personally, my flag is red, white, and blue.

Your web page is great, by the way.

Phil Anthony
Director, System Resources
Superstar = Satellite=20 Entertainment

Bless you! Many thanks for solving this mystery =97 and for = your kind=20 words about my site.

Cheers,
HFM

Go = to Top of=20 Page

Dear Miss Grammar,

I am new to the Internet and am so happy to find these = wonderful=20 grammar sites on the Web. I enjoyed yours very much, but I have a=20 question/comment. I work in an advertising agency as a = proofreader. I am=20 constantly looking up the answers to my grammatical queries. I = recently=20 purchased a very good reference book titled: Grammatically = Correct -=20 The Writer's Essential Guide to punctuation, spelling, style, = usage and=20 grammar. I am sure the title itself has made you cringe, as = the=20 disputable serial comma is missing. I read your answer to = someone's query=20 on your Web site regarding the use or misuse of the serial comma. = You were=20 quite adamant that it should always be used. However, I am finding = in more=20 and more reference books that it describes the writer's choice as = one of=20 style. In addition, I am noticing that it is being used much less=20 frequently in everything from magazines to signs. Perhaps this is = simply=20 another example of grammar as a living thing, constantly changing. = I would=20 appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. Thank you.

Portsmouth, NH

Dear KN,

Thank you for writing. As for my adamant stance, please look at = the reference= s I=20 cite: The Chicago Manual of Style, Follett's Modern American = Usage,=20 Strunk and White, the Gregg Reference Manual, Scientific Style and = Format.=20 The applicable passages are quoted and referenced from the latest=20 editions. One does not argue against such authorities.

These are among the highest authorities on American English = usage. I=20 could list many second-level grammarians =97 such as the = delightful Karen=20 Elizabeth Gordon =97 who follow these authorities in their own=20 prescriptions. Indeed, let me be so bold as to declare that any = American=20 grammarian who dismisses the serial comma as a matter of personal = taste is=20 plainly ignorant. They should be regarded with the same scorn as = those=20 English teachers who taught us that one inserts a comma wherever = one takes=20 a breath.

After much searching and many letters from thoughtful readers = such as=20 you, I have discovered only two sets of authorities that approve = of=20 dropping the serial comma: the Associated Press Stylebook = (hence=20 the comma's absence in many newspapers and similar publications) = and=20 British grammars (which waffle on the rule, saying to use the = comma if=20 omitting it would be confusing). So unless you are writing copy = for the=20 newspaper or are publishing in the UK, always use the serial = comma.

Violating usage standards is scarcely a criminal offense. If = you are a=20 professional writer or editor, however, part of your job is = adhering to=20 the applicable standards. That the multitudes regularly violate = those=20 standards is no justification. Lots of people say "him and me went = to see=20 the game"; innumerable people write "it's" when they mean "its"; = and many=20 people who are neither journalists nor English drop the serial = comma.

Cheers,
Miss Grammar

Go = to Top of=20 Page

Dr Moody,

Congratulations on a fascinating display. There is a small = point I=20 should like to draw to your attention about the use of the serial = comma.=20 You say in reply to an inquiry about the use of serial commas that = you=20 wonder where the notion got started that there shouldn't be any = comma=20 before the conjunction joining a string of words or phrases to the = very=20 last one in the series. I have several reference works stating = that both=20 'A, B, C, and D' and 'A, B, C and D' are correct although in most=20 instances the author recommends the former option. G.V. Carey, for = example, writes in Mind the Stop, p. 65 (Sorry no underlining or = italics=20 on my computer for e-mail),'When all is said, this remains a = matter for=20 individual choice. But it is also a matter of general principle; = you can=20 belong to the 'final comma school' or the 'no final comma school', = but=20 having made your choice, you should aim at consistency.' Harry = Shaw says=20 in Punctuate It Right, p. 68,'Some writers omit the comma before = the=20 conjunction... its use is recommended, although it may be = omitted.' Sir=20 Ernest Gowers says in The Complete Plain Words, page 164, = '...commas are=20 always put after each item in the series up to the last but one, = but=20 practice varies about putting a comma between the last but one and = the and=20 introducing the last. Neither practice is wrong. Those who favour = a comma=20 (a minority, but gaining ground) argue that...'. Please do not = think that=20 I am trying to criticize the very interesting discussion you = present in=20 your pages.

Regards,
HM,
Pontiac Municipality, Quebec,
Canada

Dear HM,

Thank you for your contribution. Some day, I shall update the = site and=20 note your remarks with those of others who have been kind enough = to=20 respond to my plea.

Dropping the serial comma seems to be (1) a journalism = peculiarity (and=20 the source of Harry Shaw's dictum) and (2) a British option (hence = Carey=20 and Gowers). Nonetheless, the current (and most of the old) = American=20 authorities I list at my site strongly support the final comma to = reduce=20 ambiguity. As one ever on the side of clarity, I endorse that = rule.

However: Standard punctuation is a relatively new invention, = whose=20 practice varies among languages and even among dialects of one = language=20 (American and British English). Were I to emigrate to the UK =97 = or Canada =97=20 I should have to relearn some rules: When in Rome . . ..

Yours,
HFM

Go = to Top of=20 Page

Dear Miss Grammar,

I prefer using the serial comma, but my company follows the=20 Associated Press Stylebook, which does not use a comma = before the=20 conjunction in a simple series. It appears to be typical newspaper = style=20 to omit the final comma.

A Reader

Dear Reader,

Thank you for the information. Unless you are writing for a = newspaper,=20 however, why follow AP Style? All other style guides advocate = using the=20 final comma.

Miss Grammar

Go = to Top of=20 Page