LAURA FINEBERG COOPER
  • Home
  • EDITING
  • College Essays
  • Tutoring
    • Overview
    • Grades 6-8
    • Grades 9-12
    • Adults
  • Grammar Blog
  • Resume
SIGN UP HERE to receive A SPOONFUL OF GRAMMAR in your inbox!

Spoonful#11: AND TAKES CENTER STAGE

4/21/2019

0 Comments

 
PictureImage from Teach-A-Roo
I'm tickled pink to introduce Comma Rule #3: Using Commas to Separate Items in a Series. I am the star, after all!! BUT tried to talk, but the poor dear lost his nerve.

Thanks for taking charge, AND! Will you please explain what a series is?

Why, certainly! A series is three or more items. These items can be single words, phrases, and more. Make sure you separate these items by commas and insert yours truly before the last item. Occasionally, I'll allow OR to be used as well.

Can you show us some examples?

Gladly! Because I'm so generous, I'll actually show you four. 
1) Mary's favorite colors are purple, yellow, and blue.
2) Jeremy enjoyed skiing, skating, and swimming. 
3) I looked under the bed, inside my closet, and on my dresser, but my book is still missing.
4) Honor Society requirements include earning stellar grades, displaying good conduct, and performing community service. 

I see BUT found the courage to sneak in after all. Will you allow OR to be featured in a sentence?

I suppose I could go powder my nose. OR! You're up!
5) Stan wasn't sure if he wanted pizza, sushi, or pasta for dinner. 

Thanks! I couldn't help but notice that in each sentence, a comma was placed before AND and OR. That's called a SERIAL or OXFORD COMMA, and some people consider it optional. I vote for using it, as it lends clarity to every sentence.

I agree! But I will make one concession. It seems that newspapers and magazines prefer to leave out the final comma. I wish to stress, however, that I deserve to be introduced by the SERIAL COMMA in EVERY OTHER CASE. 

Bravo, AND! You truly are a star. I also notice that all your examples exhibit excellent PARALLELISM -​ one of the most useful grammar rules of all. It's so useful (for writing, speeches, and for the SAT), that I'll take a brief break from comma rules and discuss PARALLELISM in the next spoonful. Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Laura Fineberg Cooper

I wish my subscribers and readers a wonderful Passover/Easter holiday weekend!!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to
    ​A Spoonful of Grammar!

    Swallowing too many grammar rules at once can be hazardous to one's health. That's why my goal is to deliver one spoonful at a time - in the most delightful way.
    ​

    Sincerely,
    Laura Fineberg Cooper

    Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019

    Categories

    All
    All Summaries
    Grammar
    Punctuation
    Recipes
    Story Elements
    Vocabulary

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • EDITING
  • College Essays
  • Tutoring
    • Overview
    • Grades 6-8
    • Grades 9-12
    • Adults
  • Grammar Blog
  • Resume