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[-] Phil_in_here@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago

Can you describe a situation where an Oxford comma would be detrimental to a sentence?

[-] HEXN3T@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 5 months ago

Mostly in script. Specifically with adjectives.

"I found myself surrounded by giant trees, massive ferns and strange mushrooms."

If this line were to be spoken aloud, the last two subjects would not have a pause between them. It's a picky me thing, to be honest. I'm extremely obsessive about grammar.

[-] vfye@toast.ooo 5 points 5 months ago

It sounds wrong without the comma

[-] bitwaba@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

When it changes the meaning.

I went to dinner with two idiots, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Vs

I went to dinner with two idiots, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

If you intend for the reader to think you went to dinner with two people, treating the Oxford comma as mandatory is going to add ambiguity at best and change the meaning at worst.

this post was submitted on 09 May 2024
221 points (94.4% liked)

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