BONUS: The Oxford comma | Punctuation | Grammar | Khan Academy

Hey grammarians, hey Paige, hi David!

So, we're going to talk today about the Oxford comma, which is just another word for another name for the serial comma. This is normally when you have a list of things; you punctuate them with a comma after each item.

For example, in this sentence, I'd like to thank my parents, Mahatma Gandhi, and my pet hamster. Or in this example, his favorite artists are Elvis, a tiny Norwegian harpist, and Frida Kahlo.

Now, this is a pretty big controversy in English regarding where to put this comma. Some style guides, for example, the AP Style Guide, recommend that you don't include this last comma. The style guide that Khan Academy uses, the Chicago Manual of Style, does recommend it.

Ultimately, this is less about grammar and more about style, less about sense and more about taste. You could make, I think, a pretty convincing argument against each one—whether to use the Oxford comma or whether to not use the Oxford comma.

Paige, could you take me through the possible ambiguity in this first sentence?

Sure! So this sentence, without the Oxford comma, can kind of look like you're saying that your parents are Mahatma Gandhi and your pet hamster, which is pretty crazy, right?

And the second one is a sort of sentence that could be used to make the argument against the Oxford comma. So, his favorite artists are Elvis, a tiny Norwegian harpist, and Frida Kahlo. It could be argued that you're saying that Elvis, the rock and roll progenitor hip swivel guy, was a tiny Norwegian harpist, which is not true.

Both of these things are kind of examples of assumed opposition that we're using. We're using Mahatma Gandhi and my pet hamster to explain or clarify parents, or that we're using a tiny Norwegian harpist to explain or clarify Elvis. This is not the case.

I think you have to choose which kind of confusion is more important for you to avoid. Frankly, the way to fix these sentences is to put the uncertain thing elsewhere in the sentence—probably last.

Like, I'd like to thank Mahatma Gandhi, my pet hamster, and my parents. You know, there’s no confusion, no matter where you put the comma there.

Or, his favorite artists are Elvis, Frida Kahlo, and a tiny Norwegian harpist. Yeah, that does a good job of avoiding that confusion. You know, a good craftsman never blames their tools—that’s all I’ve got to say about that!

So, Paige and I are here to report; we're not here to make law. You know, we're trying to tell you about the language as it is, the way people use it. What we do at Khan Academy is we use the Oxford comma.

So, parents, Mahatma Gandhi, and my pet hamster—or Elvis, a tiny Norwegian harpist, and Frida Kahlo. Yeah, you have to find a style guide and stick with it. Sometimes, you know, that depends on if you're writing for a newspaper that uses a particular style guide, or if your English teacher has a particular style guide that they want you to abide by—that's what you should follow.

Exactly! Different people will tell you different things. The key is to be consistent. That's the Oxford comma, that’s the debate over it, and it's really all about a false sense of these being appositives. So, keep a wary eye out; that’s the Oxford comma.

You can learn anything. David out. Paige out.