Shaine Mata

I was reading a post about how to punctuate a sentence by Michael Leddy at Lifehacks tonight. I love this post. In it, he simplifies the rules through example. I had a professor who was able to simplify writing for me after failing the course in college twice. I’ve never met Michael Leddy, but he strikes me as one of those with the heart of a teacher. His post brought out a pet peeve of mine, not against him, mind you. It has to do with commas in a series. Using Leddy’s method, let me illustrate.

When you have a series of items that you want to list, you use commas all the way. Here is an example.

I need to buy butter, bread, cookies, milk, eggs, and bacon.

Here is what I often see people do, even English majors who should know better.

I need to buy butter, bread, cookies, milk, eggs and bacon.

Do you see the difference after eggs? I’ve known this rule since 2nd grade, but it seems lost on most. When you have a series, each item is separated with its own comma, even the last item before the “and”.

I know why people are confused about this; the comma before the “and” is not always used. Here is an example.

The world’s most famous heroes are Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman and Robin.

Notice how there is no comma between Batman and Robin? That is because they are both combined as one item in the series. Many people will swear that an “and” is as good as a comma; it isn’t. The “and” simply denotes the last item in the series; the comma demarcates the items in the series. Just as in the example involving Batman and Robin, the exception in which a series does not have a comma before the “and” has become the rule in some peoples’ minds. Here is a much better example.

Some famous couples in History are Adam and Eve, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Will and Grace.

Each couple is one item in the series. Notice how messed up it would look if you did not have that comma before “and Will and Grace”. It looks wierd as it is with the two “and” separators. If you take out the comma, you would have:

Some famous couples in History are Adam and Eve, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet and Will and Grace.

Come on, tell me that an “and” is the same as a comma with a straight face.

One day I will let loose on my frustration with there, they’re, and their (notice the comma?).

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There, their, they’re. It’s not so bad.