Serial comma

"Oxford Comma" redirects here. For the song, see Oxford Comma (song).

In English-language punctuation, the serial comma, also referred to as the series comma, Oxford comma, or Harvard comma,[1][2] is a comma placed immediately after the penultimate term and before the coordinating conjunction (and or or) in a series of three or more terms.[3][4][5] For instance, a list of three countries might be punctuated without the serial comma as "France, Italy and Spain" or with the serial comma as "France, Italy, and Spain". The serial comma can serve to avoid ambiguity in specific contexts, though its employment may also generate ambiguity under certain circumstances.[6]

Usage of the serial comma varies among writers and editors and also varies among the regional varieties of English. British English allows both the inclusion and omission of this comma,[7] whereas in American English the comma is common and even considered mandatory by several style guides, with the APA style,[8] The Chicago Manual of Style, Garner's Modern American Usage,[9] Strunk and White's The Elements of Style,[10] and the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual[11] either recommending or requiring it. In contrast, the Associated Press Stylebook and The New York Times Style Book[12] advise against its use. The Canadian Press stylebook in Canada similarly recommends against its employment. The majority of British style guides do not mandate its use, with The Economist Style Guide noting that most British writers use it solely to avert ambiguity.[13] Notably, The Oxford Style Manual advocates it (hence the name, "Oxford comma").[14] However, the University of Oxford Style Guide (2014 edition) recommends against indiscriminate use.[15]

The Oxford Companion to the English Language notes: "Usage varies as to the inclusion of a comma before and in the last item. ... 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."[16]

  1. ^ Garner, Bryan A. (2016). Garner's Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press. p. 748. ISBN 978-0-19-049148-2.
  2. ^ Upadhyay, Abhishek. "Serial comma - Oxford comma - Harvard comma". Writers' Mentor. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  3. ^ The terms Oxford comma and Harvard comma come from Oxford University Press and Harvard University Press, where serial-comma use is the house style.
  4. ^ Sometimes, the term also denotes the comma that might come before etc. at the end of a list (see the Australian Government Publishing Service's Style Manual for Authors, Editors, and Printers, below). Such an extension is reasonable, since etc. is the abbreviation of the Latin phrase et cetera (lit. and other things).
  5. ^ The serial comma sometimes refers to any of the separator commas in a list, but this is a rare, old-fashioned usage. Herein, the term is used only as defined above.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Truss, Lynn (2004). Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Gotham Books. p. 84. ISBN 1-59240-087-6.
  8. ^ David Becker. "Using Serial Commas". APA. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Garner, Bryan A. (2009). Garner's Modern American Usage (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 676. ISBN 978-0-19-538275-4. ... omitting the final comma may cause ambiguities, whereas including it never will ...
  10. ^ Strunk, William Jr.; White, E. B. (2005). The Elements of Style. Illustrated by Maira Kalman (Illustrated ed.). Penguin Press. p. 3. ISBN 9-7815-9420-069-4. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
  11. ^ "GPO Style Manual" (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. 2016. pp. 201–202. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2023. The comma is used ... after each member within a series of three or more words, phrases, letters, or figures used with and, or, or nor.
  12. ^ Jordan Lewis (1962). The New York Times Style Book for Writers and Editors. McGraw Hill.
  13. ^ The Economist Style Guide (10th ed.). Profile Books. 2012. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-1-84668-606-1. Most American writers and publishers use the serial comma; most British writers and publishers use the serial comma only when necessary to avoid ambiguity ...
  14. ^ The Oxford Style Manual, 2002: "The presence or lack of a comma before and or or ... has become the subject of much spirited debate. For a century it has been part of OUP style ..., to the extent that the convention has come to be called the 'Oxford comma'. But it is commonly used by many other publishers here and abroad, and forms a routine part of style in US and Canadian English" (p. 121).
  15. ^ "University of Oxford Style Guide" (PDF). p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2021. Note that there is no comma between the penultimate item in a list and 'and'/'or', unless required to prevent ambiguity – this is sometimes referred to as the 'Oxford comma'.
  16. ^ McArthur, Tom (1998). "Comma". Encyclopedia.com. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.