When I was recently struggling to figure out a 140-character Tweet that included everything I wanted to say PLUS the Oxford comma that I *had* to include (and subsequently cut out words just to make room for the Oxford comma), it occurred to me that I really love Oxford commas.
What exactly is an Oxford comma? It’s the comma that comes right before the word “and.” You don’t see it in journalistic writing because it slows the reader down (and journalism is all about getting information to your brain as quickly and easily as possible). But it’s valuable, because without the Oxford comma, the entire meaning of the sentence can change.
Take this classic example (I’m not even sure where the image is originally from; you can find it all over the Internet):
That’s why I love Oxford commas. They get your meaning across, plain and simple. Without an Oxford comma, the meaning can be far too ambiguous.
Do you like Oxford commas? Is there a punctuation mark that you strongly like or dislike? Share in the comments section below!