The Importance of Correct Punctuation

[Angel Tarragon]

Hehehehehahahahaha!

 

[Zander]

Speaking of the importance of correct punctuation, a recent poster on the London Underground (subway system) stated that if you see a suspicious bag (i.e. one that might contain a bomb) "Don't touch, ask other passengers if it belongs to them, tell a member of staff or inform the police."

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And besides, touching a suspicious bag on the London Underground could get you jail time for some kind of sex crime.

 

[Jdvn1]

Isn't that technically correct?

If I said:

"I dedicate this book to my friends joe, bob and bill" wouldn't that be the same thing?

Technically it is correct, but you have to remember that the point of grammar and punctuation is to make things as clear as possible.

Change your example to, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob and Bill." One reads that and gets the impression that Bob and Bill are friends of the author. If you write it, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob, and Bill." then you get the impression that Bob and Bill are not included in 'friends.' The first way is ambiguous, the second is much less so. So while the first is 'correct' the second could be described as 'more correct' or 'better'.

Writing isn't just about correct grammar, it's also about lucidity and style.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Technically it is correct, but you have to remember that the point of grammar and punctuation is to make things as clear as possible.

Change your example to, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob and Bill." One reads that and gets the impression that Bob and Bill are friends of the author. If you write it, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob, and Bill." then you get the impression that Bob and Bill are not included in 'friends.' The first way is ambiguous, the second is much less so. So while the first is 'correct' the second could be described as 'more correct' or 'better'.

Writing isn't just about correct grammar, it's also about lucidity and style.

Exactly. But people forget that clarity and style are, in the end, more important that convention. It's a good thing they are, though, because almost no one follows grammatical convention all of the time, but there are some wirtiers who manage to be clear and sytlish all the same.

Your example, Jdvn1, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob and Bill," could be read either one of two ways: 1) The author has only two friends. Their names are Bob and Bill. He or she intends to dedicate this book to them. This is called an appositive. It is a restatement of the noun phrase for the sake of clarity.
2) The author wishes to dedicate the work to his or her friends, who shall remain unnamed, but also wishes to simultaneously dedicate the work to Bob and Bill, who are definately not his or her friends. This is a serial list in which the author has unwisely opted to omit the optional, final comma.

The fact of the matter is that the final comma in a list is optional, but each author should try to be as consistent as possible. This thread is the best argument I've seen for including the comma between the last two items in any list of more than two items.

 

[Dakkareth]

In German there's no second comma in enumerations like 'Äpfel, Birnen und Orangen'. It doesn't confuse us either.

 

[mojo1701]

Change your example to, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob and Bill." One reads that and gets the impression that Bob and Bill are friends of the author. If you write it, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob, and Bill." then you get the impression that Bob and Bill are not included in 'friends.' The first way is ambiguous, the second is much less so. So while the first is 'correct' the second could be described as 'more correct' or 'better'.

Writing isn't just about correct grammar, it's also about lucidity and style.

Then why not just say, "I dedicate this book to my friends: Bob and Bill," for the former example?

 

[Mystery Man]

 

[reveal]

Then why not just say, "I dedicate this book to my friends: Bob and Bill," for the former example?

Since that is gramatically correct, then you could use it. The point, however, is the usage of the comma.

 

[Jdvn1]

Exactly. But people forget that clarity and style are, in the end, more important that convention. It's a good thing they are, though, because almost no one follows grammatical convention all of the time, but there are some wirtiers who manage to be clear and sytlish all the same.

You're example, Jdvn1, "I dedicate this book to my friends, Bob and Bill," could be read either one of two ways: 1) The author has only two friends. Their names are Bob and Bill. He or she intends to dedicate this book to them. This is called an appositive. It is a restatement of the noun phrase for the sake of clarity.
2) The author wishes to dedicate the work to his or her friends, who shall remain unnamed, but also wishes to simultaneously dedicate the work to Bob and Bill, who are definately not his or her friends. This is a serial list in which the author has unwisely opted to omit the optional, final comma.

True. That occured to me after I sent my post, but didn't know if it mattered. The lack of the comma still makes the sentence ambiguous and including it is still better. I did, however, want to be snarky right here and point out that it should be, "Your example, Jdvn1..." I only mention that because it's this thread.