Sometimes an Oxford Comma is Wrong

The three readers of this site know that I’m a fan of the Oxford comma. That’s the comma just before the conjunction when you have a list. But what if the last two things in the list aren’t in the list?

This isn’t a list, it’s an appositive, which also takes a comma. An appositive is when you describe something, then name it. Here’s another example: “I like our English teacher, Mr. George.” Do you like two things you’re describing? Then it’s “my brothers, Bob and Bill.”

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Here’s an example of a missing oxford comma that’s wrong! See the previous post for an example of when the missing comma is correct.

He should put a comma after “pig.” That would remove the (admittedly unlikely) interpretation that you call a pig and a gangster “a horse.”

Diz assumes a hyphen, which would tie “black” and “car” together, making “black car” a compound adjective.

So remember, hyphens tie words (and parts of words) together.

First two panels. Comparing something to a number can be tricky, especially when the number implies some sort of direction. If something is under water, would you say “over three feet down”? That’s why I recommend that you don’t use “over” with numbers, even though it’s permitted.

My choice (for the comic) is to say “younger than.”

Second panel. It’s not past tense! Can you name the tense the dog used? (Answer after the comic., so don’t look.)

It’s present perfect subjunctive! (Yes, it’s past tense in the first panel.)