Commas in a Series

Commas in a Series

Many different things come in the form of a series. Popular television shows, movies, books, even video games often come in the form of a series. A lot of these series come in three or more parts.

When it comes to using commas, there is a slightly different use of the word series. Commas are used to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses in a series. This means that when three or more items are being listed in a sentence, a comma goes between each item in the list. For example:

John went to the grocery store and bought bread, milk, butter, macaroni and cheese.

You'll notice that between each item in the series there is a comma. You will also notice that the word 'and' is placed between the last two items in the series. This is called a conjunction and is necessary.

There is also a slightly different way to use commas in a series. Here is an example:

John went to the grocery store and bought bread, milk, butter, macaroni, and cheese.

This time, you may have noticed that there is a comma before the word 'and,' which is in between the last two items in the list. This is called the Oxford comma. Some argue that it isn't necessary, but it does help to avoid confusion. Especially in a situation like the one above, without a comma, the phrase 'macaroni and cheese' can easily be lumped together, meaning one item rather than the two separate items that were intended. However, grammatically, both ways are correct.

Before concluding the lesson, here is one more example of using Oxford commas in a series:

Garrett loves all of the Star Wars movies. His favorites in order are Episode IV, Episode V, Episode VII, Episode III, Episode VI, Episode II, and Episode I.

By using the Oxford comma, it avoided any confusion about Garrett's feelings about Episodes II and I. This way it is clear that he likes Episode II more than Episode I.