and/,and

Depends. What kind of "and"?

Are you talking a conjunction between two independent clauses? In that case, yes unless they're very short.

--Frodo took the One Ring to Mordor, and Aragorn went to Rohan.

Are you talking a compound verb maybe? Then no. Don't separate the subject from the verb with a single comma.

--Frodo took the One Ring to Mordor and threw it into Mt Doom.

Are you talking items in a series? Then yes or no, depending on the style sheet you're using.

He was tall, dark, and handsome. OR He was tall, dark and handsome.

dawinsor has stated it perfectly... other than this:
For any series with 'and' included in one or more of the items, clarity may demand ", and". Example:
My favorite Chinese food dishes are snow peas and egg and tomato.

Another popular view (not mine) is that the only rule is there is no rule.

Google "Oxford comma" and "Cambridge comma" and take your pick.

It's most commonly referred to as the serial comma and "generally" it's avoided in journalism and marketing circles, and used everywhere else. The question usually only comes up on boards like this though. The argument each way is that using it can introduce ambiguity, and the rest of the world just rewrites the damn sentence to make sure it doesn't happen.

chroniclemaster1 said:

It's most commonly referred to as the serial comma and "generally" it's avoided in journalism and marketing circles, and used everywhere else. The question usually only comes up on boards like this though. The argument each way is that using it can introduce ambiguity, and the rest of the world just rewrites the damn sentence to make sure it doesn't happen.

Click to expand...

I always thought that it was used in the States and avoided in Ireland and Britain. I was taught in school (in Ireland) not to use a comma before "and" except in exceptional circumstances. I'm doing a journalism master's now and we are taught to avoid it.

Millicent M'Lady said:

I always thought that it was used in the States and avoided in Ireland and Britain. I was taught in school (in Ireland) not to use a comma before "and" except in exceptional circumstances. I'm doing a journalism master's now and we are taught to avoid it.

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It depends on the style guide that you're following. I work as a contractor for the US Federal Government (DoD Contractor to be exact) and the US Government Printing Office Style Guide requires (yes, they use the word 'require') the use of the serial comma for all lists of three or more items when the conjunction is 'and' or 'or'.

As: One, two, and three.
As: One, two, or three.

So that's the way I write. Which works out well for my peace of mind, because I was raised with the serial comma being considered correct usage.

I should have mentioned that "egg and tomato" is one dish. Anyone who didn't know that would not know which are the two or three dishes:
"snow peas, and egg, and tomato" or
"snow peas and egg, and tomato" or
"snow peas, and egg and tomato"

The serial, or Oxford, comma, is used everywhere, even where it supposedly isn't used.

There are so many exceptions in teh rule not to use it that you eithe rhave to rewrite sentenecs completely, which is stupid, or use it where needed to avoid confusion.

Without the serial comma, you join the last two items in a list. Sometimes this doesn't matter, but it very often causes confusion, and makes the writer look like a dolt.

Commas are free, and we all have an unlimited supply. Use them.

Lance_in_Shanghai said:

I should have mentioned that "egg and tomato" is one dish. Anyone who didn't know that would not know which are the two or three dishes:
"snow peas, and egg, and tomato" or
"snow peas and egg, and tomato" or
"snow peas, and egg and tomato"

Click to expand...

It could also mean "snow, peas, and egg..."

There's Oxford and there's Cambridge in the UK, and their equivalents in the US. Cambridge is popular in journalism, whereas Oxford is commonly found in scholarly writings. Fiction can use either. It doesn't matter which you use, so long as you stick to it. Just pick the one you like, read the style guide(,) and make sure you use it consistently. Publishers all have their own particular house style, and making sure manuscripts conform to it is one of the functions of copyeditors.

If your sentence looks ambiguous in the style you use, you can rephrase it while remaining faithful to your style:

"Ian sorted the deck chairs by the colours of their stripes: red and white, blue and yellow, and green and purple." Oxford style
"Ian put the red and white deck chairs in the right corner, the blue and yellow ones in the left corner and the green and purple ones in the middle." Cambridge style

-Manda.

There's much more to it than just the serial comma, which seems to be used everywhere except Ireland.