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Ouc Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

"John, David, and I" OR "John, David and I"

0 When I reply a party invitation, I often use the following:02br
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001) John, David01font01b00, 02b02font00and I will be there.02br
002) John, David and I will be there.02br
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00 I saw both very often. Which one is right? Please help.02br
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00In William Strunk, Jr. 00(1869–1946).00 The Elements of Style. 001918.02br
01b01a00In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last02a00.02b00 01table01tr01td02tr01tr01td02tr01tr01td02tr01tr01td02tr01tr01td02tr01tr01td02tr01tr01td02tr02table
02br
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00Thus write,02td
00 02td
00 00red, white, and blue00 00honest, energetic, but headstrong00 00He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.00 02td
00 02td
00This is also the usage of the Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press.02td
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Top answer

0 I personally would use the two commas ... 0-

— Pieanne

  • 0 I personally would use the two commas ...
  • 0-
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8 Answers
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0 I personally would use the two commas ... 0-
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0 Both are correct. American English favours the comma; I'm not sure if British English has a preference.02br
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00There are sentences, where the comma before the "and" is essential, even if you favour leaving it out.02br
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00Listing book-titles: Jane Eyre, Romeo and Juliet, and Oliver Twist. (That would be an interesting book: "Romeo and Juliet and O
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Dawnstorm12cite10Both are correct. American English favours the comma; I'm not sure if 10British English has a preference10.12br
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10There are sentences, where the comma before the "and" is essential, even if you favour leaving it out.12br
12br
10Listing book-titles: Jane Eyre, R
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0(1) John, David01font01b00, 02b02font00and I will be there.02br
00(2) John, David and I will be there.02br
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00I have been taught that in AmE, the comma is used before 'and' as in the example above.02br
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00In BrE, no comma is needed. And this is also what English usage books sa
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Philip12cite11b11font10I'm not sure how wide-spread it still is, but the comma before the 'and' is officially known as the Oxford comma (I suppose the reason is obvious). Reminds one of Lynne Truss' delightful 11i10Eats Shoots and Leaves12i10, reading I would recommend on b
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0 01blockquote
00Oxford comma12blockquote
10It's also known as the "serial comma".02br
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00In ordinary BrE usage (e.g. company documentation, government publications, newspapers), you rarely see the Oxford comma, unless there's a possibility of confusion. 02br
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00It may turn up in publications from some univers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Dawnstorm12cite11blockquote
11cite20Philip22cite21b21font20I'm not sure how wide-spread it still is, but the comma before the 'and' is officially known as the Oxford comma (I suppose the reason is obvious). Reminds one of Lynne Truss' delightful 21i
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0Sorry Philip, but the book is 01b00with02b00 the comma. Without the comma, the title just means that shoots and leaves are what the panda eats.0-
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