[OT, grammar and punctuation] Use of commas in US and British style?

[Henry]

Midnight orgies? ...wha? This thread just got interesting?

What was said about midnight orgies, again?


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Mondegreens have always been one of my pet peeves in English. Particularly phrases like, "For all intents and purposes," which I have seen consistently phrased on these boards as "For all intensive purposes" time and time again.

 

[Gonzo the Mofo]

I am American and as best as I can remember you don't put a comma before the and. At least that's the way I've done it for years.

 

[Krug]

Save ink, spare the comma I say!

 

[Zander]

Strunck & White says to omit the final comma in a series unless its exclusion will lead to confusion.

Greg

That's the rule I use and I'm a freelance editor of academic papers submitted to British and American journals.

 

[Zander]

I'm mostly flabbergasted that a writer's reference book example centers around midnight orgies... maybe I should read the rest of this.

To quote The Princess Bride: "I do not think that means what you think it means."

An orgy is any kind of revelry or wanton behaviour. It isn't necessarily sexual.

 

[Marius Delphus]

Hm, this debate seems to be drying up, and before I get my two cents in. In my job, and in any personal writing I do, I'm frantic when it comes to matters of English usage (American English, anyway).

I was taught always, always, always to use the serial comma, and in my job I pursue that agenda (as well as a few other grammar- and punctuation-related agendas) with verve and dedication bordering on obsession.

IIRC, AP style mandates throwing out the serial comma, whereas Chicago style favors it in the same circumstances as Strunk & White. I wasn't aware of a British/American dichotomy on the serial comma, but somehow it doesn't surprise me. I agree that the serial comma has gone out of vogue in many circles.

So I'm a grammar throwback in a few other ways, as well. I know how to diagram sentences! I can even turn engineer-speak and lawyer-ese into something comprehensible (one engineer who saw my work complained, "You turned my ten pages into five!").

 

[Jack Daniel]

I go by what the Modern Language Association says. MLA's formal expository style dictates that Tom, Dick, and Harry are okay but Moe, Larry and Curly are using improper grammar.

 

[Zhure]

What it boils down to is: Pick a style and stick to it. As long as you don't change in the middle of a mss, you're ok.

Greg

 

[Maerdwyn]

[blatant hijack]
Which is gramatically correct?

a) "None of them is experienced enough to survive such an encounter."

or

b)"None of them are experienced enough to survive such an encounter."

I've always thought it was the former. A friend, who is an English teacher, says I'm incorrect. What were you taught?

[/blatant hijack]

 

[Ferret]

I was taught to read your writing and put a comma, when, it, sounds, like it.