English language peeve

[gsabc]

I was taught that the last comma is optional, and chose not to use it. I was not aware I had affected the writing community to such an extent.

So that covers you in the past. What do you do now?

I leave it out.

Commas are a casualty of the "simpler is better" mentality. Leaving them out has become the thing to do.

This led to the book "Eats Shoots and Leaves", by a British author who claims to be a member of the "comma police" and wants them back in. I expected the book to be more humorous than it is. The author comes off as more pedantic than I am. That's saying a lot.

[Rexer25]

Not to the level of a peeve but what happened to the last comma in a list?

Is this now correct? For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger and a hot dog.

I could have sworn I was taught that it should be: For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog.

I see many people doing it the first way now and not the second. It just looks wrong to me every time. Why wouldn't there be a comma before the "and" the last item?

I just noticed something about the original post. AJ, what's your cholesterol count? With and without the comma?

[silvercamaro]

Not to the level of a peeve but what happened to the last comma in a list?

Is this now correct? For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger and a hot dog.

I could have sworn I was taught that it should be: For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog.

I see many people doing it the first way now and not the second. It just looks wrong to me every time. Why wouldn't there be a comma before the "and" the last item?

When I was in journalism school, the AP style manual decreed that the last comma should be left out (unless that would lead to confusion, as in the case of multi-word list items that themselves include a conjunction.)
About 10 years ago, the AP style manual changed the rule to put that last comma back. So, what people do with lists may depend largely on whenever they were in school and what they were taught while they were there. Both "styles" have been taught over recent decades.

[andrewjackson]

Not to the level of a peeve but what happened to the last comma in a list?

Is this now correct? For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger and a hot dog.

I could have sworn I was taught that it should be: For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog.

I see many people doing it the first way now and not the second. It just looks wrong to me every time. Why wouldn't there be a comma before the "and" the last item?

I just noticed something about the original post. AJ, what's your cholesterol count? With and without the comma?

Uh,......3?

That's a number, right?

[andrewjackson]

Not to the level of a peeve but what happened to the last comma in a list?

Is this now correct? For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger and a hot dog.

I could have sworn I was taught that it should be: For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog.

I see many people doing it the first way now and not the second. It just looks wrong to me every time. Why wouldn't there be a comma before the "and" the last item?

When I was in journalism school, the AP style manual decreed that the last comma should be left out (unless that would lead to confusion, as in the case of multi-word list items that themselves include a conjunction.)
About 10 years ago, the AP style manual changed the rule to put that last comma back. So, what people do with lists may depend largely on whenever they were in school and what they were taught while they were there. Both "styles" have been taught over recent decades.

Interesting. Like I say, it's not a big deal to me but I do notice it.

[Duh Mass]

Nucular

[TheConfessor]

Interesting. Like I say, it's not a big deal to me but I do notice it.

I think you meant "as I say, " not "like I say."

I'm always appalled by highly paid media professionals who don't know the difference between "I" and "me."

I was recently appalled by Tiki Barber, who thinks there's a country at the Olympics called "Hungaria."

[andrewjackson]

Interesting. Like I say, it's not a big deal to me but I do notice it.

I think you meant "as I say, " not "like I say."

I'm always appalled by highly paid media professionals who don't know the difference between "I" and "me."

I was recently appalled by Tiki Barber, who thinks there's a country at the Olympics called "Hungaria."

No, I meant "Like I say".

It might be wrong but that's what I meant.

[ulysses5019]

i wont call it a peeve i will call it a befuddlement when otherwise seemingly educated people write long passages without considering the possibility of using capital letters or punctuation of any kind i never know if they dont know the difference or if they simply cant be bothered to try to communicate in standard english

I take it you aren't a huge fan of e e cummings then...

how about archy and mehitabel

[silvercamaro]

how about archy and mehitabel

Archy had a perfectly valid reason for not using capital letters. As I recall, he was not heavy enough to depress the shift key on his old manual typewriter. (Mehitabel wasn't doing the typing.)

I hold no grudges against writers who weigh two ounces or less.

[Here's Fanny!]

Not to the level of a peeve but what happened to the last comma in a list?

Is this now correct? For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger and a hot dog.

I could have sworn I was taught that it should be: For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog.

I see many people doing it the first way now and not the second. It just looks wrong to me every time. Why wouldn't there be a comma before the "and" the last item?

When I was in journalism school, the AP style manual decreed that the last comma should be left out (unless that would lead to confusion, as in the case of multi-word list items that themselves include a conjunction.)
About 10 years ago, the AP style manual changed the rule to put that last comma back. So, what people do with lists may depend largely on whenever they were in school and what they were taught while they were there. Both "styles" have been taught over recent decades.

Ha, it annoys me when people put the comma there! Like Sliver, I was taught to leave out the last comma (except it was grammar school, not journalism).

I am generally guilty of using too many commas and punctuations mark rather than not enough. And I start sentences with "and" a lot. BITD you weren't supposed to do that, not sure if it's changed over time.

[Here's Fanny!]

PS I know Sliver is not old enough to have been in journalism school when I was in grammar school (either that or I'm not young enough, ha!). I'm certain there was just a general time period when the No Comma! brigade took over the English language.

[frogman042]

I hate it when people who should know better, make this mistake:

Each year ITE holds a call for abstracts for the following year’s Technical Conference and Exhibit and Annual Meeting and Exhibit. The submitted abstracts are subject to a membership peer review prior to being used by the Technical Program Committee to develop the program. ... Each reviewer will have one week to review a maximum of 30 250-word abstracts. These individuals will compliment the representatives from the councils and San Antonio who will serve as reviewers.

So, I would have to read 30 pages, then tell all the reviewers how great they are?

First the proofreaders, THEN the reviewers! One of my peeves as well. I turn off when a presenter's slides contain typos or grammatical errors. Worst example was a presentation by a well-known QA professional which had an obvious typo in a PowerPoint slide. He had made the same presentation at various conferences around the country. The slide was dated from when he created it - nearly two years before the presentation I attended. The Quality professional can't go back and correct the mistake??

Too much reliance on spell-checkers and calculators nowadays, so no one can spell, write with correct grammar or do simple math.

Edited to note that it was a PowerPoint slide, and easy to correct.

I'm proud to say I was butchering the language with mispellings and horrendous grammers long before the introduction of spell checkers!

I had a pet peeve once, but I had to put it to down. Now my only pet peeve is the phrase "pet peeve".

---Jay (To quote Elvis Costello: 'She said she worked for the ABC News, it was as much of the alphabet as she new how to use" - take the last two digits of Elvis Costello's birth year - switch them and you get the number of days to my anticipated air date)

[silvercamaro]

I'm certain there was just a general time period when the No Comma! brigade took over the English language.

I agree. I mentioned the AP Stylebook for all those scholarly types out there who demand footnotes for every citation.

[ulysses5019]

I had a pet peeve once, but I had to put it to down. Now my only pet peeve is the phrase "pet peeve".

it's a good thing you did. you can go blind.

[silverscreenselect]

Mrs. SSS and I watch the soap opera One Life to Live every day.

They have several high school characters on the show, all of whom are supposed to be fairly bright. One girl even wrote the school musical. However, they always things like "Me and Bob are going to the diner after school."

Now admittedly I don't know if the scripts are written this way or the actresses in question just talk this way. I also know that time constraints on soap operas prevent them from stopping the tape every time someone flubs a line. Usually, they just catch their mistake and go on. I would think that the writers would use the proper grammar in their dialogue or the director would call the actress over and point out what she'd done wrong. There's no story-line based reason why these girls should be sayins "me and him," so why shouldn't they be using proper grammar on the show.

[kayrharris]

I was taught to leave out the last comma.

My boss is one of those who uses loose instead of lose.

[TheCalvinator24]

I was taught to include the comma before the "and." It bugs me when I see a list, and it's not there.

[littlebeast13]

I usually leave out the last comma as well, despite the fact that I tend to use commas almost as gratuitously as I use ellipses.......

lb13

[elwoodblues]

Not to the level of a peeve but what happened to the last comma in a list?

Is this now correct? For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger and a hot dog.

I could have sworn I was taught that it should be: For lunch I ate a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog.

I see many people doing it the first way now and not the second. It just looks wrong to me every time. Why wouldn't there be a comma before the "and" the last item?

I just noticed something about the original post. AJ, what's your cholesterol count? With and without the comma?

Uh,......3?

That's a number, right?

To have a cholesterol count of only 3 you would have to eat nothing but shoots and leaves.

One thing that drives me crazy is when people say, "The point is mute."

As for the comma, you would not use it if there are only 2 items in the list ("A and B") so it does not seem necessary before and if there are more than 2 items ("A, B and C").

[lilyvonschtupp26]

libary
febuary

when did we start waiting ON line instead of waiting IN line?

"like" being used everywhere in sentences i/o pauses

the "f" word being used as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all in the same sentence. . .

OK, I'm stepping down from my soap box.

[Here's Fanny!]

As for the comma, you would not use it if there are only 2 items in the list ("A and B") so it does not seem necessary before and if there are more than 2 items ("A, B and C").

That is a great explanation! Much better than mine, which is "because".

[Here's Fanny!]

when did we start waiting ON line instead of waiting IN line?

the "f" word being used as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all in the same sentence. . .

OK, I'm stepping down from my soap box.

Depends on where the line is located. Some people have never been in line.

I love the F bomb and use it as frequently and inventively as possible. I like the versatility, it is the verbal equivalent of a pair of black pumps.

[frogman042]

I just noticed something about the original post. AJ, what's your cholesterol count? With and without the comma?

Uh,......3?

That's a number, right?

To have a cholesterol count of only 3 you would have to eat nothing but shoots and leaves.

One thing that drives me crazy is when people say, "The point is mute."

As for the comma, you would not use it if there are only 2 items in the list ("A and B") so it does not seem necessary before and if there are more than 2 items ("A, B and C").

So, do you know what sound the offspring of crossing an Cow with an Owl would make?

Spoiler

The answer is moot

---Jay (If you know how many years ago Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won their Oscars, you will know how many days until (I hope) my episode airs)

[Beebs52]

when did we start waiting ON line instead of waiting IN line?

the "f" word being used as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all in the same sentence. . .

OK, I'm stepping down from my soap box.

Depends on where the line is located. Some people have never been in line.

I love the F bomb and use it as frequently and inventively as possible. I like the versatility, it is the verbal equivalent of a pair of black pumps.

Apologies if this is a duplicate. I agree with the "on line" thingie. It's weird. Also, "insurances" instead of "insurance"; we live in the US.

I am also a "drop the comma after the "and"" baby myself. And an inappropriate user of the quotation mark, obviously.

"It is the verbal equivalent of a pair of black pumps."

You are my hero(ine).