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What’s an Oxford comma? How do I use it correctly? And do I need one at all?

Matthew Ward · 07/08/2020 · 6 Comments

I’ve got a book on my shelf printed by the Oxford University Press and another printed by the Cambridge University Press. The Oxford University book uses the Oxford comma. Not surprising. However, in the Cambridge University book, I noticed something that made me chuckle. There was a complete absence of Oxford commas. 

Coincidence? 

I wonder…


An Oxford comma is sometimes called a serial comma, and it is the comma preceding the and or the or before the final element in a series.

That could be a series of words or a series of phrases. Watch out for the Oxford commas in these examples. They’re red.

Blue, orange, and yellow

Cars, buses, motorcycles, or bicycles

Apples and mangos, bread and jam, or tea and biscuits

Good, solid, clean, and fresh

He sped past the newsagent, rounded the corner, and ducked behind a wall.

Jumping on the trampoline, running round the garden, and chasing bubbles, the children exhausted themselves.

When I walk to the shops, I must be careful to walk as a responsible pedestrian, careful that I do not forget to purchase every item on the shopping list, and careful that I carry any fragile purchases without banging them.


Here’s the tricky thing, though.

Cambridge University Press did not use Oxford commas, and Cambridge University is the last place I’d expect to find punctuation errors. There is, in fact, no right or wrong in the world of Oxford commas. 

Blue, orange, and yellow 

is as correct as 

Blue, orange and yellow

The challenge in this area of punctuation is maintaining consistency. Sometimes, I’ve seen manuscripts where one series of words or phrases has the Oxford comma, and the next doesn’t. Then, a page later, the Oxford comma returns. 

We start with the Oxford comma:

Cars, buses, motorcycles, or bicycles

Then it disappears:

He sped past the newsagent, rounded the corner and ducked behind a wall.

Then it’s back again:

Good, solid, clean, and fresh


This is an unfortunately easy situation to fall into. But I assure you, consistency is key.

Choose one way and stick to it. Inconsistency is an error that readers don’t see because they don’t search back through previous pages to check how something was done before. However, inconsistency can still trigger something in their memory, leaving them confused. Consistent manuscripts read more smoothly, and although the Oxford University and Cambridge University books had different comma policies, of course, they stuck to them perfectly from start to end.

Hopefully, now that you’ve got a clear definition of the Oxford comma—the comma preceding the and or the or before the final element in a series—inconsistency in this area will never trouble you again.


Finally, while I said that there is no right or wrong in the world of Oxford commas, I do think there is a case to be made for having them.

I’ll make it in the form of a story.

A customer emailed a t-shirt manufacturer, asking what colour t-shirts were available. The t-shirt manufacturer sent their reply, and they did not use an Oxford comma. The reply read like this: “We sell blue, black and white, yellow, orange, green and grey and pink t-shirts.” The customer understood the colours of the first four t-shirts, but they were terribly confused after that. Was there a green and grey t-shirt? Was there a grey and pink t-shirt? Was there a green one, and a grey one, and a pink one? Or was there a single t-shirt containing all three colours? The customer shook their head and contacted a different t-shirt manufacturer. This manufacturer used the Oxford comma, and the reply read like this: “We sell blue, black and white, yellow, orange, green and grey, and pink t-shirts.” Thanks to the Oxford comma, the customer could confidently place their order for a green and grey t-shirt.

Obviously, the book from Cambridge University Press, which didn’t use the Oxford comma, was still clear and accurate throughout. It did not have to overcome a situation as tricky as the one we’ve just discussed. Nevertheless, I choose to use the Oxford comma all the time. That way, no matter what I need to write, I will always be able to write it clearly.


Finally though, while I do recommend the Oxford comma wholeheartedly, my number one desire is to persuade you that consistency is key. The Oxford comma may not be the right policy for you, but consistency is the right policy for everyone.

I hope I’ve been of service. I will be back again next Friday, and I hope I’ll see you then.

And for lots more punctuation pointers, check out My Big Blog Directory.

But if you’d like some entertainment instead, let me present Glimpses—my free book of short stories.

Filed Under: Grammar Blogs, Popular Tagged With: comma, commas, English grammar, English punctuation, grammar, punctuation

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richie says

    07/08/2020 at 18:57

    Hi Matthew. I like the Oxford Comma. I liked it, and used it, even before I knew that was what it was called! As you say, consistency is key. Unfortunately, when I use it at work, sometimes my boss ‘corrects’ the work by removing it … and sometimes he doesn’t.

    Reply
    • Matthew Ward says

      08/08/2020 at 17:53

      Hi Richie,
      Thanks for reading. It’s great to hear from you again.

      Reply
  2. Heiz says

    13/08/2020 at 22:45

    Hi Matthew,
    Thanks for being of good service.I have enjoyed how you have explained it. Consistency is key.
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Matthew Ward says

      14/08/2020 at 09:48

      Thanks for letting me know that it helped! I’m glad it did.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Could I help you write? My Big Blog Directory - Matthew Ward Writes says:
    05/03/2021 at 14:51

    […] “but”, “or”, “nor”, and “yet” made simple How to Put Commas Between Descriptors What’s an Oxford comma? How do I use it correctly? And do I need one at all? A tiny comma edit guaranteed to make a massive improvement Can a single comma change the meaning of […]

    Reply
  2. Asking too much of your commas? Careful rephrasing comes to their rescue - Matthew Ward Writes says:
    05/03/2021 at 18:08

    […] wrote a blog about it, which you can read here. However, I’ll summarise it quickly. The Oxford comma is the comma that comes before the […]

    Reply

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“What about milk?” Debbie asked. Mark reached for the milk. “Let me see.” He shook the carton. “There’s only a drop left.” “I’ll add it to the list.”

This paragraph includes several mistakes.

The paragraph starts with Debbie’s dialogue. Then, it moves to Mark’s. Then, it returns to Debbie’s. We need to start new paragraphs with each new speaker.

And we need to make sure that information about Debbie is alongside her dialogue, and information about Mark is placed alongside his dialogue.

When we put this into action we get this:

“What about milk?” Debbie asked.

Mark reached for the milk. “Let me see.” He shook the carton. “There’s only a drop left.”

“I’ll add it to the list.”

Now that’s perfect.

Mark, standing in the kitchen and hearing her call, opened the fridge. “I think,” Debbie continued, “we might be low on cheese.”

This paragraph includes a mistake. The dialogue in the paragraph is Debbie’s. Therefore, information that is primarily about Mark shouldn’t be in the same paragraph.

This is how it should be written:

Mark, standing in the kitchen and hearing her call, opened the fridge.

“I think,” Debbie continued, “we might be low on cheese.”

Mark moved one block of cheddar and checked behind it. “No, we’ve got two blocks.”

This paragraph is perfect. It involves Mark’s dialogue and information about Mark.

“Have we got enough groceries to last the week?” Debbie shouted from the living room.

This paragraph is perfect. It involves Debbie’s dialogue and information about Debbie.


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I’ll edit the punctuation and grammar in any two paragraphs of your writing for free.
You could choose the most awkward ones if you like!
(I’d probably do that if I were you.)
Then, when I return your paragraphs, I’ll include full explanations of every edit so that you can apply them to the rest of your writing. I’d love to help.
For more information and to take up my offer, click here.