![]() ![]() As the New York Times reports, Oakhurst Dairy settled an overtime dispute with its drivers that hinged entirely on the lack of an Oxford comma in state law. The dairy company in Portland, Me., agreed to pay $5 million to the drivers. If you think this is all rather esoteric, you may not have heard that the Oxford comma recently cost a dairy company $5 million. I love Lady Gaga, Humpty Dumpty and my parents. Those who oppose the Oxford comma argue that rephrasing an already unclear sentence can solve the same problems that using the Oxford comma does. I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty. Here’s the same sentence with the Oxford comma: ![]() Without the Oxford comma, the sentence above could be interpreted as stating that you love your parents, and your parents are Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty. However, omitting it can sometimes cause some strange misunderstandings. Unless you’re writing for a particular publication or drafting an essay for school, whether or not you use the Oxford comma is generally up to you. ![]() Please bring me a pencil, eraser and notebook. ![]() The sentence above written in AP style would look like this: AP Style-the style guide that newspaper reporters adhere to-does not require the use of the Oxford comma. Use of the Oxford comma is stylistic, meaning that some style guides demand its use while others don’t. The Oxford comma comes right after eraser. Please bring me a pencil, eraser, and notebook. The Oxford (or serial) comma is the final comma in a list of things. In case you haven’t heard of it, here is the definition, courtesy of Grammarly: So it would be good to have some definitive clarity from GL Assessment about it, perhaps in their FAQs if nowhere else.I mentioned the Oxford comma recently in a conversation with Stefan. 131218.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href) return false For example: ‘The learners studied catering, key skills, and information and communication technology’ (‘information and communication technology’ is one item in the list). Similarly, for those producing Ofsted inspection reports:ĭo not use a comma before ‘and’ in a list unless the meaning would be unclear without it. My favourite sandwiches are ham, beef and mustard, and tuna However, the serial comma is acceptable if it used for the avoidance of ambiguity, e.g. The mark will not be awarded if a serial comma is used in a list of single items, e.g. DFA_V9.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href) return false However, according to the following document (in which the government sets out its framework for writing Key Stage 2 English assessments): I am guessing GL Assessment bases the punctuation tests on the children being taught 'just avoid the Oxford comma' as Therese Coffey has said. ord-commas" onclick="window.open(this.href) return false ). I have just noticed that Therese Coffey has asked the Department of Health just to do away with Oxford commas (. I understand Key Stage 2 children are basically taught not to use them, although they are still used in legal texts, in Oxford University's house style and in the United States of America. Thank you for your reply and your thoughts, ontarget. ![]()
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