For want of a Comma

[Quid est Veritas?]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180723-the-commas-that-cost-companies-millions

Interesting article. I remember the dairy driver case - Oxford Comma - but had no idea about the 40 million fruit import snafu or the Irish nationalist executed on the strength of a comma.

 

[Sam91]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180723-the-commas-that-cost-companies-millions

Interesting article. I remember the dairy driver case - Oxford Comma - but had no idea about the 40 million fruit import snafu or the Irish nationalist executed on the strength of a comma.

Oh those dreaded commas. I'm forever editting posts to include those. I've since realised that my sentences are poorly constructed and that the whole structure of the phrase ought to be changed.

 

[cfyahoo08]

Strange that people are so persnickety about things such as this, It is sad that so many don't think about the consequences of lawsuits and litigation on the families and individuals that are affected by them.

On a different note you might enjoy this :

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125639616

The eco-font uses less ink because each character, instead of being filled in, has lots of tiny circles. Printer ink adds up. A typical cartridge costs $30, and that translates to about $10,000 a gallon. So, Dornbush took the article to the school's computer technicians, but they found an even better solution: Century Gothic. That font uses about 30 percent less ink than the old Arial setting used for email.

 

[LaSorcia]

I refuse to use the Oxford comma unless it is necessary to clarify meaning. Otherwise, a comma and a conjunction together looks ugly to me and is redundant.

 

[Radagast]

I refuse to use the Oxford comma unless it is necessary to clarify meaning. Otherwise, a comma and a conjunction together looks ugly to me and is redundant.

The various legal cases have demonstrated that it is always necessary to clarify meaning.

 

[LaSorcia]

The various legal cases have demonstrated that it is always necessary to clarify meaning.

I want to buy bread, milk and eggs.

 

[Tinker Grey]

From https://www.grammarly.com/blog/what-is-the-oxford-comma-and-why-do-people-care-so-much-about-it

There's a difference between:
1) I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
and,
2) I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.

Of course, they make the point that you could just rewrite the sentence:
I love Lady Gaga, Humpty Dumpty and my parents.

 

[LaSorcia]

From https://www.grammarly.com/blog/what-is-the-oxford-comma-and-why-do-people-care-so-much-about-it

There's a difference between:
1) I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
and,
2) I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.

Of course, they make the point that you could just rewrite the sentence:
I love Lady Gaga, Humpty Dumpty and my parents.

One could use a colon as well.

I love my parents: Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. (I feel sorry for that kid.)

 

[Sam91]

We were taught at school not to put a comma before 'and'. I still try to avoid it.

 

[Tinker Grey]

I wish folks would remember the comma when addressing someone.

There's a difference between:
1) It's hot, Tinker.
and
2) It's hot Tinker.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

I wish folks would remember the comma when addressing someone.

There's a difference between:
1) It's hot, Tinker.
and
2) It's hot Tinker.

The difference is, of course, the hubris of Tinker; in that he believes someone might consider him hot.

 

[LaSorcia]

I wish folks would remember the comma when addressing someone.

There's a difference between:
1) It's hot, Tinker.
and
2) It's hot Tinker.

I'm positive appositives take commas.

 

[Radagast]

We were taught at school not to put a comma before 'and'. I still try to avoid it.

And that approach by schools has caused endless legal trouble.

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

And that approach by schools has caused endless legal trouble.

I always wondered about that stupid rule in school, and since I've discovered the Oxford comma, I use wherever I can! Although, an arguably better approach would be to utilise the colons and semicolons of which @LaSorcia speaks, but I still fear the complexity of these, and the potential for getting it wrong.

 

[Dave-W]

And that approach by schools has caused endless legal trouble.

Indeed it has.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

I always wondered about that stupid rule in school, and since I've discovered the Oxford comma, I use wherever I can! Although, an arguably better approach would be to utilise the colons and semicolons of which @LaSorcia speaks, but I still fear the complexity of these, and the potential for getting it wrong.

Semicolons are fraught with difficulty and often used incorrectly.
They combine sentence fragments, with or without conjunctions; or related, but separate, clauses. You can also use it to separate a set, in which subsidiary punctuation is used.

So in this case:
I love my parents; the're Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. - would be wrong. They aren't independant clauses.

I am in fact having difficulty framing this in a way to use a semicolon. Personally, I like semicolons. I feel they are often necessary to express the written word in the manner I usually speak; but although I have gone to the trouble to try and figure out how to use them correctly, even I am not quite sure if I always manage to.

 

[Sam91]

I was brave enough to try to use the semi-colon in a couple of whatsapp messages and on the Fill-the-blank thread It felt a bold move. I have no idea if the usage was correct; my friend said it was.

 

[LaSorcia]

I love my parents; the're Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. - would be wrong.

There's a bit of irony in this sentence.

They aren't independant clauses.

I think you'll find they are.

 

[Sam91]

Such a contentious issue; punctuation.

Am I wrong?

 

[LaSorcia]

Such a contentious issue; punctuation.

Am I wrong?

This is a deadly serious issue!