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About using and, I've learned it is usually used in lists, between the last two items. For example:

I like movies, traveling and going out with friends.

Please tell me if the use of and twice in this next example is correct. The first and is used between the last two items of the list, and the second is used to combine two things in the second part.

I am a software developer who has permanent residence, Bachelor degree and 4 years experience in .net for developing new software and doing enhancements in existing once.

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  • 2
    You need to do enhancements to existing more than once.
    – user4683
    Commented Mar 6, 2012 at 0:04
  • 4
    "existing ones", not "existing once". But I'd say "existing software" because I consider "software" a mass noun.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Mar 6, 2012 at 0:46
  • 3
    The Oxford Comma covers a multitude of sins, including this one.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Mar 6, 2012 at 1:22
  • @J.R. Shouldn't it be "four-year-experience" ?
    – Centaurus
    Commented Mar 20, 2014 at 22:58

3 Answers 3

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Your usage is indeed entirely correct. "And" can be used in such a way. Just note, that in a list, the second and last element of the list is separated by a comma, which I note in both of your examples, is lacking :

I like movies, traveling and going out with friends./A comma is needed between "traveling" and "and"

So, it should be:

I like movies, traveling, and going out with friends.

That's one way of preventing confusion from the "and's"

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  • 8
    That’s called the “Oxford comma”, and it’s optional—though I’m with you on preferring it.
    – Jon Purdy
    Commented Mar 6, 2012 at 1:20
  • It's optional, and I kind of like it, but when I was growing up my teachers taught us that it was wrong - so you might want to be cautious about using it on a C.V., in case your future employer was taught the same thing.
    – user867
    Commented Dec 5, 2012 at 1:35
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It is grammatically incorrect because you are not listing things that would fall under the same categories. In the first part, you are listing your educational level and the second, you are explaining what it is that you do.

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I'm going to rewrite your sentence in a way that avoids the problem instead:

I am a software developer who has permanent residence and a Bachelor degree. I have 4 years .NET experience, both in developing new software and in enhancing existing applications.

The previous version crams too much in. The .NET experience is better picked out as a fact that stands on its own. It's more likely to catch the eye of a reader that way because now it's important information that's no longer buried at the end of a convoluted sentence with difficult syntax.

(Note that I checked the captialization - it's .NET; not capitalizing it properly sends a subtle signal that you don't know it all that well, since all the documentation spells it as ".NET" not ".net".

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