A last comma - use it or not

Question

The question I have is regarding commas in lists and/or between coordinate adjectives. It seems like sometimes I see a last comma and sometimes I don't. For example:

The red, white and blue flag whipped in the wind.

or

The red, white, and blue flag whipped in the wind.

I'm looking at whether or not to use a comma after the word white.

Or in a list like:

I wanted to ride the bike, write a paper and blow a whistle.

or

I wanted to ride the bike, write a paper, and blow a whistle.

I'm looking at whether or not to use a comma after the word paper.

So, in most books I've looked through, I see people use the last comma in a list but not use it with the coordinate adjectives. However, I've not seen that expressed anyway.

Thanks for the help.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I've always understood the rule to be that the final comma (before the and) is completely optional.
My only advice is to be consistent. Use it all the time, or not at all.

I can't confirm your observation about the adjectives, but I don't doubt that what you say is true. I haven't seen a rule about it either.

If it's your style to omit the last comma, of course there will be cases where it's needed for clarity; and good judgement will often require it. This would be unlikely to occur in the case of coordinate adjectives, and that may contribute to some extent to what you have observed.

A last comma - use it or not

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