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BONUS VIDEO – The Oxford comma
David and Paige tackle the great comma debate of our time: Oxford comma or no Oxford comma?
Want to join the conversation?
If you wrote, "I'd like to thank Mahatma Gandhi, my pet hamster, and my parents," it could sound like your hamster's name is Mahatma Gandhi (which would be rad). So even if you rearrange the elements, it doesn't really get rid of the issue of whether to use the Oxford comma or not.(32 votes)- If you say "I'd like to thank Mahatma Gandhi, my pet hamster and my parents," that makes it sound like your pet hamster named Mahatma Gandhi is also both of your parents, so really, there's no good solution here.(13 votes)
Why is it called the "oxford"(6 votes)
Different newspapers and university presses have different style guides; the Oxford University Press was an early and notable advocate for the inclusion of the serial comma. That's why we call it the Oxford Comma.(33 votes)
ummm why is it called the oxford comma(5 votes)
It is connected to usage prescribed by Oxford University, a small school in the United Kingdom.(13 votes)
- When I begun this course I wanted to learn about adjectives, correct use of prepositions etc. I certainly didn't anticipate I'd get so excited about the humble comma. I think David is right: it IS a superhero! Now the question: would it be considered bad style if I used the Oxford comma when it gives clarity and avoid it when it doesn't? (as in the examples you guys have already provided)(4 votes)
- This would not be bad style, since clarity is the aim. However, if you are using the Oxford comma (or not using it) in a piece of writing, you should be consistent from beginning to end. Remember also that your editor is in charge of the final work, so a quick consult with her before submitting (as to whether she accepts or rejects the Oxford out of hand) might save you some grief.(10 votes)
I'm confused still. how are supposed to use this?(0 votes)- OK, look at it this way.
There are two acceptable ways to write a series of words in a sentence. The first way does NOT have a comma before the word "and" (which introduces the last word in the series). The second way (known as the Oxford comma) includes a comma in that place. BOTH ways are grammatical and acceptable.
Your choice is which one to use, but be aware, in an essay, book or doctoral dissertation, once you have made the choice to use (or to eschew) the Oxford comma, you need to use it from the beginning to the end of what you are writing. To switch back and forth is an error.(15 votes)
Thank you for mentioning and (sort of) advocating this! It's the sole reason I'm not a more vociferous advocate of the NYT: I love their reporting, and most of their writing, but their shunning of "Oxford," or serial, commas is often confusing and always infuriating!(4 votes)
I Love Videos (ILV)(3 votes)
I still get confused about it.do we need to use oxford comma for writing or not?(1 vote)- It's used more often in America than in Britain. It's really up to you, but if you start using it in an essay, a PhD dissertation or a parole application, you should use it all the way to the end. (That's true if you start by NOT using it, too. Just be consistent all the way through.)(4 votes)
Or maybe, instead of following some study gude, you could use it when it is necessary to clear any ambiguity and not when it creates it. I don't know about English but, in my mother tongue, ambiguity is considered a grammatical error and you could be required to use commas in places where you normally wouldn't be.(1 vote)- Of course, you may do as you like, but the editor of your doctoral dissertation or tenure book might ding you for that.(4 votes)
- is Frida Kahlo a painter?(2 votes)
- She was, but she no longer lives.(2 votes)
Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Hey grammarians, hey Paige. - [Voiceover] Hi David. - [Voiceover] So we're gonna talk today about the Oxford comma, which
is just another word for another name for the serial
comma which is normally when you have a list of things, you punctuate them with a comma after each item. So for example, in this sentence: I'd like to thank my parents, comma, Mahatma Gandhi, comma, and my pet hamster. Or in this example: His favorite
artists are Elvis, comma, a tiny Norwegian harpist,
comma, and Frida Kahlo. Now this is a pretty big... controversy in English is
where to put this comma. Some style guides for example
the AP style guide recommends that you don't include this last comma. The style guide that Khan Academy uses, the Chicago Manual of
Style, does recommend it. Ultimately this is less about
grammar and more about style, less about sense and more about taste. 'Cause you can make, I think,
a pretty convincing argument against each one, like whether
to use the Oxford comma or whether to not use the Oxford comma. Paige, could you take me through the possible ambiguity
in this first sentence? - [Voiceover] Sure, so
this sentence without the Oxford comma can kind
of look like you're saying that you're parents are Mahatma Gandhi and your pet hamster,
which is pretty crazy. - [Voiceover] Right, and
the second one is a sort of sentence that could be used to make the argument
against the Oxford comma. So his favorite artists are Elvis, a tiny Norwegian harpist, and Frida Kahlo, and it could be argued that
you're saying that Elvis, the rock-n-roll progenitor, hip-swivel guy was a tiny Norwegian
harpist, which is not true. Both of these things are kind of examples of assumed apposition that we're using. We're using Mahatma
Gandhi and my pet hamster to explain or clarify parents. Or that we're using a
tiny Norwegian harpist to explain or clarify Elvis. And this is not the case. I think you have to choose which kind of confusion is more
important for you to avoid. Frankly, the way to fix
these sentences is to put the uncertain thing
elsewhere in the sentence. So probably last, like I'd like to think. Mahatma Gandhi, my pet
hamster and my parents. And there's no confusion no matter where you put the comma there. Or his favorite artists
are Elvis, Frida Kahlo, and a tiny Norwegian harpist. - [Voiceover] Yeah, that does a good job of avoiding that confusion. - [Voiceover] A good craftsman
never blames their tools. That's all I gotta say about that. So Paige and I are here to report. We're not here to make law. We're trying to tell
you about the language as it is and the way people use it. Well we do at Khan Academy
is we use the Oxford comma, so parents, comma, Mahatma Gandhi, comma, and my pet hamster, or Elvis, comma, a tiny Norwegian harpist,
comma, and Frida Kahlo. - [Voiceover] Yeah. - [Voiceover] You have to find a style guide and stick with it. And sometimes that depends
on if you're writing for a newspaper that uses
a particular style guide, or if your English teacher
has a particular style guide that they want you to abide by, that's what you should follow. - [Voiceover] Exactly. Different people will
tell you different things. - [Voiceover] The key is to be consistent. That's the Oxford comma. That's the debate over it. And it's really all about a false sense of these being appositives. So keep a wary eye out. That's the Oxford comma. You can learn anything. David out. - [Voiceover] Paige out.