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  • #91
    Originally posted by gribbler View Post
    You would have to be retarded to think they're calling Nelson Mandela an 800-year-old demigod, and a dildo collector.
    Proper grammar must not depend on context of knowing who the noun is to make sense. Replace Nelson Mandela with "Garildo" and its ambiguity is clear.

    You should not need to change the whole damn structure because you do not put in a simple comma where it logically makes sense.
    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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    • #92
      You shouldn't have to put in a comma every time just because someone came up with a couple examples where the comma makes it less ambiguous. I mean really, just because writing something a certain way can sometimes be ambiguous doesn't mean that way should never be done. The Oxford comma sometimes makes things more ambiguous.

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      • #93
        Originally posted by gribbler View Post
        You shouldn't have to put in a comma every time just because someone came up with a couple examples where the comma makes it less ambiguous. I mean really, just because writing something a certain way can sometimes be ambiguous doesn't mean that way should never be done. The Oxford comma sometimes makes things more ambiguous.
        It's extremely rare that it makes things more ambiguous. It's quite common that it resolves ambiguity. It is a net win. Further, the space taken up by a comma in these days of proportional fonts is ridiculously small. It hurts nothing, it can help a lot. Further, it is simply CONSISTENT. Why should the last entry in the list be an exception?
        "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
        Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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        • #94
          If you had a list of two things I don't think you would use a comma before the "and". Let's be consistent please.

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          • #95
            It's not a list of it's two, it's a conjunction.
            "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
            Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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            • #96
              A conjunction is a type of word. "and" is a conjunction.

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              • #97
                Originally posted by Asher View Post
                It's extremely rare that it makes things more ambiguous. It's quite common that it resolves ambiguity. It is a net win. Further, the space taken up by a comma in these days of proportional fonts is ridiculously small. It hurts nothing, it can help a lot. Further, it is simply CONSISTENT. Why should the last entry in the list be an exception?
                Why use an 'and' at all? We should all write like this: Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer.

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                • #98
                  Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
                  Why use an 'and' at all? We should all write like this: Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer.
                  People who want English to be strictly functional should agree with you.

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                  • #99
                    Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
                    Why use an 'and' at all? We should all write like this: Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer.
                    AGREE.

                    Unfortunately, this is socially unacceptable.
                    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
                      Why use an 'and' at all? We should all write like this: Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer.
                      Because the MLA tells you to.
                      Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                      • My opinion on these matters is colored by cold, hard cash. If I use the Oxford comma and double-space between sentences, it will hurt my income over time.

                        While logic and reason are great, I can't eat them for lunch or pay my mortgage with them.
                        Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
                        RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-Arms

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                        • Everyone's opinion is colored differently and should be respected equally. It doesn't impact my bottom line so I have some freedon in this area.
                          It's almost as if all his overconfident, absolutist assertions were spoonfed to him by a trusted website or subreddit. Sheeple
                          RIP Tony Bogey & Baron O

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                          • Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
                            Why use an 'and' at all? We should all write like this: Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer.
                            Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer, and I picked up my dry cleaning.
                            Click here if you're having trouble sleeping.
                            "We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones." - François de La Rochefoucauld

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                            • Don't English speakers have some pansy Royal Academy of the English Language in which a group of old English men tell you how to talk and write?
                              I need a foot massage

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                              • Originally posted by Lorizael View Post
                                Today I bought rice, chicken, fish and chips, beer, and I picked up my dry cleaning.
                                Well here you're separating main clauses. It's a bit different. Actually I don't see why you need the comma before the last and.

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