English was never my best subject but if you have read my correspondence or even this blog, you can tell that I have basic, yet acceptable, command of grammar. What little I do know, I try to exercise to the point of almost obsessing at times. One such item is the use of the comma in lists. I was taught and was of the belief that you include a comma before the last item in a list. For example:
For lunch today, I had a hamburger, potato salad, and fritos.
Most people seem to omit that last comma which has been a pet peeve of mine. This past weekend, I was browsing through the Upstart Crow at Seaport Village and ran across a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. It turns out, that particular item is called an Oxford comma and its inclusion or omission are both acceptable. Interestingly, in the U.S. it’s usually included but in the U.K. it is usually omitted.
Aren’t you glad you learned that?
See, and I have always left off the final comma. My big hang-up right now is where to put commas in regard to quotes. In school, I learned that they go inside if it is dialog, outside if not:
“I hate ice cream,” Bob said.
I love it when “peace officers”, firemen and ambulance drivers wear clownface.
Supposedly, the trend now is toward all-external.