The Oxford Comma: What’s the Deal?

If you’ve been hanging around writer blogs, or following writers on Twitter for a while, you’ve no doubt seen people make reference to “The Oxford Comma,” saying how they love it or hate it. Most people I know seem to prefer it, but there are some out there who swear by its non-use.

And there are some who have no clue what everyone’s talking about. This article’s for you!

What is the “Oxford Comma”?

When you give a list of items, you normally separate each item in the list with a comma: “a banana, a pear, a bicycle, a radish…” There is dispute, however, over whether or not you should put a comma at the end of the list before the “and” or the “or”: “a banana, a pear, a bicycle, and a radish” vs. “a banana, a pear, a bicycle and a radish.” The comma before the “and” or “or” is known as the “Oxford Comma” (perhaps because the Oxford University Press style manual requires it–which is odd, since most Brits don’t use it). So, to be sure we’re clear:

With the Oxford Comma:

• “The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Doctor.”
• “Peter, Billy, John, Eugene, or the goldfish.”

Without the Oxford Comma:

• “The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctor.”
• “Eric, Norman, Persephone or Bob.”

Why the Debate?

The Oxford Comma debate really revolves around which is clearer, especially if items in the list might be viewed as being in apposition. What’s “apposition”? That’s when you have two nouns (or noun phrases) where the second noun clarifies or builds upon the first. In “John the Baptist,” the Baptist stands in apposition to John, giving further definition to John. In the sentence, “My house, number 22, is the only pink-roofed house on our cul-de-sac,” number 22 is in apposition to my house.

You might notice the commas before and after number 22 in that last example. Perhaps that gives you a hint as to where the use (or non-use) of the Oxford Comma might cause confusion. What if our sentence was:

“It’s going to be a wild party: John, the baker’s son, and a belly dancer will be there!”

If we see that sentence as including a list of three nouns/noun phrases (John, the baker’s son, and a belly dancer), then there’s no question over the meaning. But what if one or more of those nouns stood in apposition? What if “the baker’s son” was meant to describe John? Using the Oxford Comma won’t help you determine if “the baker’s son” is a description of John, or the second person in the list.

This problem could be solved by removing the Oxford Comma:

“It’s going to be a wild party: John, the baker’s son and a belly dancer will be there!”

Without the comma, we see that “John,” “the baker’s son,” and “a belly dancer” are all separate list items. But this sentence might actually cause further confusion since “the baker’s son and a belly dancer” could be taken in apposition to “John”–that is, describing John (though it might explain why the party’s going to be wild!)

Each side of the Oxford Comma debate believes their version of the sentence to be less ambiguous. If you’re really not sure whether to use the Oxford Comma, first, go with whatever your style guide (whether for college, a newspaper, or your publisher) tells you. Otherwise, you could always try re-wording the sentence:

“It’s going to be a wild party. John’s coming, and so is the baker’s son. There’ll be a belly dancer, too!”

Maybe that’s a bit wordy, but there’s no doubt about the invitees to the party.

Where do you stand on the controversy?