Who remembers Vampire Weekend’s catchy third single, which featured the line: ‘Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma?’.
I do. It punctuated (sorry) my post-uni social life. Back in 2008, it had been three years since I’d completed my degree (in English Literature and Media, if you’re asking) and two years since I started my first proper role: as editorial assistant at my local newspaper.
My free time was spent attending gigs on behalf of the paper (and later, for some music magazines, including NME), interviewing bands and reviewing concerts and music festivals. It was pretty much the dream for someone in their early twenties.
Vampire Weekend had just reared their quirky, perfectly coiffed heads and their cheery tunes were doing the rounds in pubs, clubs (and on the Shuffle setting of my MP3 player).
Where am I going with this?!
Well, despite working on a newspaper back in 2008, previously doing well at GCSE, A-level, and English at uni, my grammatical knowledge was, at times, a bit ropey. Did I ever use an Oxford comma? Did I flip. For that, you could say I was an absolute colon.
Why didn’t I bother with the most divisive of punctuation marks? Like many folks, I probably didn’t realise how valuable that little comma is. It also wasn’t the ‘house style’ of the newspaper I worked at.
What is an Oxford comma then? It’s the comma used after the penultimate item in a list containing three or more items. Why should you give a f**k about it? Don’t use one and your message could well be interpreted wrong.
Grammarly offers, let’s face it, an absolutely cracking example (below) of when an Oxford comma makes perfect sense. Still, though, there are some naysayers where the humble punctuation mark is concerned.
Do you give a flip about an Oxford comma? Would you rewrite your sentence entirely, to avoid using what it often considered an ‘old-fashioned’ addition to a sentence? Or are you a traditionalist through and through? Let this friendly Huddersfield copywriter - and other folks - know by commenting on this blog.
Until next time…