Screw all that crap. I’m upset that I seldom ever see the Oxford comma used anywhere.
Tom, Dick and Harry (future legal problems . . . does the estate get divided up into 2 parts or 3? Legally, just 2)
Tom, Dick, and Harry (correct)
At work recently, we had some fun with this after receiving a writing guide that instructed us not to use the Oxford comma.
Commas truly change meanings.
"Eats leaves and shoots?" or "Eats, leaves, and shoots"?
Commas even save lives.
"Let's eat Grandma!" or "Let's eat, Grandma!"
Recently, a company was forced to pay a considerable amount of backpay to drivers as a result of a lacking Oxford comma. Lack of Oxford comma costs Maine dairy company $5 million
Moral: Never be afraid to use a comma.
Along that line, punctuation should only be inside quotation marks if they are part of the original quotation.
Thank you! I didn’t know that was referred to as the use of the Oxford comma, but I was dismayed when the rule was dropped a few decades ago. I still use it, and will continue to do so. I’m no grammar expert, but I’m annoyed when the rules of grammar decay due to common useage.
If it makes you feel better, I always use an Oxford comma.
I should amend that to, “I always use an Oxford comma, where appropriate.” I don’t run into a lot of situations where I need to treat multiple people as a single party, but I know how to use commas properly when I do.