03 October 2003

This is one of my FAQs.  Every single writing course I run, someone asks me: "Can you put a comma before "and"? So for anyone who reads this, here's the answer. Yes.  You remember you were taught at school to write lists like this: apples, pears, bananas and grapes (no comma before the and) So that's why you think you shouldn't.  But, if you are joining two short sentences together, sometimes you need a comma to make your meaning clear.  For example: Tom was sitting eating spaghetti and the ceiling suddenly caved in.  In this sentence, a comma before the and would make sure you didn't (even just for a moment) think Tom was eating the ceiling as well as his pasta. And anyway, isn't it better to put a comma in to make your meaning clear than to obey a half-remembered rule from a teacher who has forgotten you even if you haven't forgotten her? 4:04:20 PM    comment []

I'm thinking about a title for this.  My name's not very good because it doesn't tell anyone what kind of content to expect.  But then I don't know what kind of content to expect either really.  I'm going to be doing a lot of thinking about a topic for my MBA dissertation - but only for a while.  I'd better have a look and see what seasoned bloggers do. 7:24:59 AM    comment []