The comma before "and" is just an unnecessary thing that
provides anything to make the understanding more clear.
With the same success you can put "and" before every
comma in the list. ;-)
Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:
It's a matter of style, not an absolute requirement, and some people recommend using it only when it's needed to avoid confusion:
Through the window I saw John, a basketball player and a friend of
mine.
What is this friend's name, and is he a basketball player? I have no idea.
I found the example in Wikipedia... I didn't personally invent it.
I asked for coffee with a breakfast of pancakes, bacon & eggs, hot buttered toast and hash brown potatoes.
At 5WPM I can type an added comma without having to fret about whether someone from ElseWhere will think I buttered the hash browns *after* they were cooked. For me it's easier to use the Oxford comma routinely in such a list than to go into detail about why buttering such things on the plate may not work.
If Denis asks I'll do the latter, but other folks may not care.
:-Q
BTW, here's a joke Dallas found shortly before your message arrived:
I like cooking my family and my pets.
-- commas save lives
I suppose you could in many cases. But as Anton says, in English it is generally considered desirable to avoid unnecessary verbiage.... [chuckle].
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)
The comma before "and" is just an unnecessary thing that providesIt's a matter of style, not an absolute requirement, and some
anything to make the understanding more clear.
people recommend using it only when it's needed to avoid confusion:
Through the window I saw John, a basketball player and a friend of
mine.
What is this friend's name, and is he a basketball player? I have
no idea. I found the example in Wikipedia... I didn't personally
invent it.
I asked for coffee with a breakfast of pancakes, bacon & eggs, hot buttered toast and hash brown potatoes.
At 5WPM I can type an added comma without having to fret about
whether someone from ElseWhere will think I buttered the hash
browns *after* they were cooked. For me it's easier to use the
Oxford comma routinely in such a list than to go into detail about
why buttering such things on the plate may not work.
If Denis asks I'll do the latter, but other folks may not care. :-Q
BTW, here's a joke Dallas found shortly before your message
arrived:
I like cooking my family and my pets. -- commas save lives
With the same success you can put "and" before every comma in the
list. ;-)
I suppose you could in many cases. But as Anton says, in English it
is generally considered desirable to avoid unnecessary verbiage.... [chuckle].
It's a matter of style, not an absolute requirement, and some
people recommend using it only when it's needed to avoid
confusion: Through the window I saw John, a basketball player and
a friend of mine. What is this friend's name, and is he a
basketball player? I have no idea. I found the example in
Wikipedia... I didn't personally invent it. I asked for coffee
with a breakfast of pancakes, bacon & eggs, hot buttered toast and
hash brown potatoes. At 5WPM I can type an added comma without
having to fret about whether someone from ElseWhere will think I
buttered the hash browns *after* they were cooked. For me it's
easier to use the Oxford comma routinely in such a list than to go
into detail about why buttering such things on the plate may not
work. If Denis asks I'll do the latter, but other folks may not
care.: - Q BTW, here's a joke Dallas found shortly before your
message arrived: I like cooking my family and my pets. -- commas
save lives I suppose you could in many cases. But as Anton says,
in English it is generally considered desirable to avoid
unnecessary verbiage.... [chuckle].
When I read Dallas's joke I thought about the phrase: "Love your
kids but belt them in the car."
Hmmm, should I had put a period after the ending quote mark?
When I read Dallas's joke I thought about the phrase:
"Love your kids but belt them in the car."
Hmmm, should I had put a period after the ending quote mark?
Hi, Ed! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:
Oh... now there's a wonderful example of how confusing some apparently short, simple words in English may be. Just for starters, are we being told we ought to beat up on our kids or just ensure their seat belts are fastened? :-Q
AFAIK your punctuation there is correct in American & Canadian English because you were apparently quoting an entire sentence. Although I may tend to do things a bit differently at times, I am a Canadian with ex-Brit roots. :-))
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)
The comma before "and" is just an unnecessary thing that
provides anything to make the understanding more clear.
It's a matter of style, not an absolute requirement, and someAre there three of them? ;-)
people recommend using it only when it's needed to avoid
confusion:
Through the window I saw John, a basketball player and a friend
of mine.
If we have a good list (of names, for instance) we would have:
Through the window I saw John, Peter and Paul, who staggered out from
the pub.
The comma before "and" is just an unnecessary thing that
provides anything to make the understanding more clear.
It's a matter of style, not an absolute requirement, and some
people recommend using it only when it's needed to avoid
confusion: Through the window I saw John, a basketball player and
a friend of mine.
Are there three of them? ;-)
Now that I'm reading it I indeed see 3 different persons.
If we have a good list (of names, for instance) we would have:
Through the window I saw John, Peter and Paul, who staggered out
from the pub.
Does "who" indicate all of them, or just Paul?
@MSGID: 2:221/6.0 664732c0
@REPLY: 1:153/716.0 646b4c40
@PID: SmapiNNTPd/Linux/IPv6 kco 20240505
@NOTE: Sylpheed 3.7.0 (GTK+ 2.24.30; i686-pc-mingw32)
@CHRS: CP437 1
@TZUTC: 0300
@TID: hpt/lnx 1.9 2024-03-02
Ardith Hinton:
I use the Oxford comma for the same reason. I'm
interested to hear that one can also employ it in
Russian.... :-
And who shall stop me, even if I be the first & last person
on Earth to use the Oxford commad in Russian?
___
- Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)
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I was standing in line at a Church Supper, and telling a story to someone. Another person came up to me and asked if I was a member of the Wit family.
I said, No.
He said he thought my Name was either Half or Nit.
It's a matter of style, not an absolute requirement, and
some people recommend using it only when it's needed to
avoid confusion:
Through the window I saw John, a basketball player and a
friend of mine.
Are there three of them? ;-)Now that I'm reading it I indeed see 3 different persons.
If we have a good list (of names, for instance) we would have:
Through the window I saw John, Peter and Paul, who staggered out
from the pub.
Does "who" indicate all of them, or just Paul?
... End of message, Alexander. Confused? Me too! :-)
If we have a good list (of names, for instance) we would have:
Through the window I saw John, Peter and Paul, who staggered out
from the pub.
Does "who" indicate all of them, or just Paul?
Beats me. I'd suggest asking Alexander, as you did... [chuckle].
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