Tagged Questions

0
votes
3answers
116 views

Is the last comma in “A, B, and C, do X” correct? [duplicate]

Does the following sentence require a comma after the word "meal?" Quizzing the waiter, complaining about the menu, and criticizing the meal, detract from your advocacy.
1
vote
2answers
535 views

“A, B, C, or etc.” vs. “A, B, or C, etc.” vs. “A, B, C, etc.”

I think correct usages of "and" and "etc." are: A, B, C, and etc. A, B, and etc. But the example usage of "or" and "etc." I found in my dictionary is: A or B, etc. Why it is not: A, ...
1
vote
0answers
29 views

Usage of comma before “and” [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Should I put a comma before the last item in a list? Which is correct? Three attributes are considered in this talk: response time, availability, and throughput. ...
0
votes
3answers
125 views

Does inserting a comma change what is modified?

My question pertains to the usage of comma after a list of clauses of the form "X, Y, and Z (,) to/in order to <do something>" Example: Apply Equation 1, use Lemma 2, and exploit Theorem ...
0
votes
0answers
14 views

“Rate, comment, and subscribe” vs. “rate, comment and subscribe” [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Should I put a comma before the last item in a list? In a sentence, when listing a couple — at least three — of things, are you supposed to add a comma before the last ...
0
votes
2answers
106 views

How can this sentence be written correctly? [closed]

Our interactive products are fun to use on desktop, mobile and touchscreen devices, just look awesome and are driven by the latest technology. The commas don't seem right to me. Shouldn't there ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views

Semicolons at the end of list items

In school, we were taught to end each list item with a semicolon. But I have never actually seen this. Can somebody please confirm this? Should we end each list item with anything at all? I've seen ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views

Either and vs. Either or

(1) In this question on math.SE a question about the meaning of 'either' before a list which ends with 'and'. The meaning of either a, b, c, or d is from this answer sort of clear in that it means ...
-1
votes
0answers
32 views

proper way to use a comma separating 3 (or more) words in a sentence [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Should I put a comma before the last item in a list? Proper English writing is not my strong point so I thought I'd post a question here. Using the following as an ...
7
votes
5answers
602 views

How to punctuate lists that are nested to three levels?

A basic list is punctuated like this: The park has some bears, deers, and other animals. (bears) (deers) (other animals) When commas appear inside the items of a list, or when lists appear ...
-4
votes
2answers
312 views

Comma confusion [closed]

I'm pretty sure this is a duplicate, but it's a generic case and searching brings up thousands of examples, so I'm forced to post. The question is, which of the sentences below is punctuated ...
0
votes
0answers
70 views

Comma usage for multiple words [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Comma before last item in a list Is it correct to write: a,b, or c a,b, and c Is the comma used after b correct?
1
vote
4answers
615 views

Comma in a sentence just before the start of a list

If I am asking a complex question, I would write it like this: Do you have, by chance, three pennies on you? Should I write a complex question that turns into a list without the comma? Do ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views

Punctuation to introduce a list: comma vs. colon vs. nothing

Which of these sentences is written correctly? Angela has three brothers, Mark, Adam, and Ryan. Angela has three brothers: Mark, Adam, and Ryan. Angela has three brothers Mark, Adam, and ...
0
votes
3answers
4k views

How to write a bulleted list? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicates: Question about Capitalization for a Bullet List Periods for bullet point items Should each item be in uppercase or not? I've seen both forms: Yada, yada, yada, ...
1
vote
2answers
366 views

In a conditional sentence where the condition contains a list, which serial punctuation mark is used in the list?

For example, If Bobby buys a pencil, an eraser, and a pad of paper, then he can write his essay. To remove the ambiguity in the final comma, my instinct is to write: If Bobby buys a pencil, ...