Are Oxford commas grammatically correct?

Are Oxford commas grammatically correct?

An Oxford, or serial, comma is the last comma in a list; it goes before the word “and.” Technically, it’s grammatically optional in American English. However, depending on the list you are writing out, omitting it can lead to some confusion.

Why you shouldn’t use the Oxford comma?

The AP Stylebook considers the Oxford Comma unimportant, and many journalists agree that they shouldn’t be required to use it. Why don’t they use it? Many opponents of the Oxford comma claim that it makes a piece of writing sound more pretentious and stuffy, and that it can make things seem cluttered and redundant.

What is an Oxford comma give an example?

The Oxford (or serial) comma is the final comma in a list of things. For example: Please bring me a pencil, eraser, and notebook. The Oxford comma comes right after eraser. Use of the Oxford comma is stylistic, meaning that some style guides demand its use while others don’t.

What is the Oxford comma rule?

To give the Oxford comma its technical definition, it is a comma used before the final conjunction in a list of three or more items. When you’re writing a list, you naturally include commas to separate each item, but an Oxford comma is when you also put a comma before the “and [Final Item]”.

When did the Oxford comma become optional?

The Oxford comma has been attributed to Horace Hart, printer and controller of the Oxford University Press from 1893 to 1915, who wrote Hart’s Rules for Compositors and Readers in 1905 as a style guide for the employees working at the press. However, at that time, the comma was not called the Oxford comma.

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What does comma splice mean?

A comma splice occurs when you use a comma to join two complete sentences without placing an appropriate joining word between them. The comma just isn’t strong enough to do the job of making one grammatical sentence out of two. Learn to recognize what comma splices look like, and be sure to avoid them in your essays.

Is comma splicing bad?

Comma splices are bad, and you should never use them as Liz has so snarkily shown us, however, if you are, in fact, Cormac McCarthy, and you want to use the comma splice, you still shouldn’t do it because Liz says so, but…

How do you know if its a comma splice?

When you join two independent clauses with a comma and no conjunction, it’s called a comma splice. Some people consider this a type of run-on sentence, while other people think of it as a punctuation error. Here’s an example of a comma splice: Koala bears are not actually bears, they are marsupials.

Combining Clauses to Avoid Comma Splices, Run-ons, and Fragments

A run-on sentence is made up of two or more independent clauses that are not joined correctly or which should be made into separate sentences. A run-on sentence is defined by its grammatical structure, not its length. A comma splice is the incorrect use of a comma to join two independent clauses.

How do you do a comma splice?

Five Ways to Fix a Run-on or Comma Splice

What are run-on sentences?

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses (also known as complete sentences) are connected improperly. Example: I love to write papers I would write one every day if I had the time. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined with just a comma. …

How do you know if its a run-on sentence?

The best way to find a run-on sentence is to determine whether there is more than one independent clause in the same sentence without punctuation. If there are two subjects (who or what the sentence is about) or a subject and its pronoun (he, she, it, they etc.)

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Is it a complete sentence or a run-on?

Run-on sentences, also known as fused sentences, occur when two complete sentences are squashed together without using a coordinating conjunction or proper punctuation, such as a period or a semicolon. Run-on sentences can be short or long. A long sentence isn’t necessarily a run-on sentence.

How do you know if a sentence is correct?

In order for a sentence to be grammatically correct, the subject and verb must both be singular or plural. In other words, the subject and verb must agree with one another in their tense.

Is it grammatically correct to start a sentence with and?

It’s perfectly acceptable to begin a sentence with “And,” as well as the other words that we are often taught to avoid such as “but” or “or.” Writing samples tracing back to the 9th century, including Bible translations, break these “sacred” rules, which stem from attempts to curb school children from stringing too …

When to use have been has been and had been?

Present perfect ‘have/has been ‘ is used when describing an action completed in the recent past and still assumes importance in the present. We use ‘had been’ when you describe something that happened in the past before something else in the past.

Was working Vs had been working?

“I was working on that soup all day! I HAVE BEEN working all day is past tense, or formal past. I WAS working the entire day is the same. I HAD BEEN working on that soup all that day, would also constitute a sufficient past tense way of interpreting the same as above, for example.

What is the meaning of had not been?

if it had not been for idiom. : in the absence of (something or someone) : without.

Have been and had been sentences?

He has been really sick lately There has been a change of plans I have been sick all week I have been waiting for him since morning I have been working since morning “ Had been” is past perfect Continuous used only when at least two things are mentioned as having occurred in the past, in a relative sense, in the same …

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“Have been” is a verb used to form the present perfect tense, and when followed by a present participle (such as “running”, “walking”, “doing” etc.), the present perfect continuous tense. This means that an action is going on continuously and has not been completed at this moment.

“Have been doing” means that the action started in the past and is continuing into the present. Example: “I have been walking since noon.” (you started walking at noon and are still walking.)

What is another word for have been?

What is another word for have been?

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