Nerd fury
Today I had a bona fide rant about people failing to use the serial comma. To multiple people. And then I realized I was insane.*
I am a rabid supporter of this neglected punctuation mark. Guys, it’s important. Look at these two sentences modeled after book dedication (a variation of which appears in the wikipedia entry, but also happens to be the example I frequently use when arguing the issue):
“To my parents, George Washington and God.”
versus
“To my parents, George Washington, and God.”
That, my friends, is a HUGE difference.
I’m not asking you to change your habits, but I do want you to realize that if I see you failing to use it, part of my soul dies. If you’re ok with that being on your head, then go along your merry-and-unspecific way.
*I am aware of at least one person who would feel equally passionate about this, whether she agrees with me on it or not.
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Ah, the deadly Chicago Style versus Associated Press Style hate fest!!! I just merge the two, and I never — ever — include that last, sweet comma.
I totally almost added them all back in to your piece on RVANews.
But, alas, I am lazy.
Now, I will go ahead and admit that I don’t see the “HUGE” difference in meaning in the example you’ve provided, but I definitely agree that the serial comma is a rule to follow.
But what if your parents happen to be GW and God?
This drives me CRAZY too. I habitually add it in to any content I’m working on that doesn’t have it!
Andi, the first sentence could suggest that George Washington and God are your parents. The whole “could suggest” part is what drives me crazy, solely on principle.
I just knew I was that one person before I rolled over the link. Amen, sister. This rant is near and dear to me, but it has its hint of lunacy for the listener. Boo. You’d think I was defending a serial killer instead of a serial comma.
Okay, I see it now.
I love grammar, it was my most favorite topic in English class. But I’ve never claimed to be perfect at it, so please feel free to correct any of my grammar mistakes whenever you see them. I love hearing about stuff like this, so keep ranting!
Grammar nerds unite! I hate bad grammar. Those two senteces do imply 2 totally different things.
I, too, am a big supporter of the serial comma. However, I can be okay with it being omitted — if and ONLY if it is omitted consistently. I can’t tell you how irritated it makes me to see inconsistent style in one piece of writing. And yet, my boss (at a PUBLISHING COMPANY!) insists on being inconsistent with it. Drives me freaking insane.
If your parents were both GW and god, the universe could collapse in on itself. Assuming for a moment that god is male, as we refer to it as him, would mean that GW and god had a homosexual relationship. Since we are all aware that any offspring raised in such a relationship would be unequivocally corrupted by “having two daddies”, we must rethink either, what this means for the path of human sociological development (and what that means for our interpretation of scriptural text), or our application of grammar rules. Opting for the latter, because I’m generally pretty lazy, I think I will address this to my parents, George Washington, and god.
also, the dangling preposition bothers me.
as in:
“I need something to put the leftovers in.”
rather than
“I need something in which to put the leftovers.”
I’m pretty sure this stems from some zealous English teacher, and I’ll admit it’s not as big of a difference as the serial comma, but it still bothers me.
I thought you should know–your husband has failed to use the serial comma in his business’ website. Check the contact page! (Apparently I have been stalking my brother’s high school friends through the intertron. Or something.) So anyways, you should reprimand him for that. And for calling me a nerd. Because, seriously, let’s talk about a pot and a kettle.