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Serial Commas and Serial Semicolons
By Erika SuffernSerial Commas
Perhaps no mark of punctuation ruffles feathers more than the serial comma (also called series comma, Oxford comma, and Harvard comma). This comma precedes the final item in a list or series, before the word and or or. With the exception of newspapers, most publications use the serial comma, because it helps writers avoid ambiguity. Who would object to unambiguous prose? you might ask. Fair-weather comma users: publications that do not require the serial comma may use it only when misreading results. Proponents of the serial comma, like the MLA, would decry the inconsistency of the use-it-when-you-need-it approach and advocate using the serial comma in all series of three or more items or phrases.
Here’s an example where omitting the serial comma results in ambiguity:
Without a serial comma placed after peach or after mango, it isn’t clear if “peach and mango” is one flavor or if “mango and pineapple” is.
Here’s another example:
As written, the sentence might mean that Deirdre is a friend of Sam’s and also his dentist. But, alternatively, the sentence might mean that Sam met three people, not one: Deirdre, a friend, and his dentist. Without the serial comma, there’s no way to know.
Serial Semicolons
When items in series themselves contain commas, additional punctuation is needed to clarify the items. Consider this sentence:
Here, commas aren’t enough to clarify the items in the series: is the councilwoman named Suzette Tanner or are Suzette Tanner and the councilwoman two people? Adding serial semicolons provides clarity:
The semicolons make it clear that there are four speakers. To use serial semicolons, place them wherever you would normally place serial commas, to separate like terms. Here’s a more complex example where serial semicolons are needed:
The addition of serial semicolons makes clear which items belong together and makes the sentence easier to read:
Still not convinced of the importance of the serial comma? A court ruling in a labor dispute earlier this year upped the stakes of this normally low-profile punctuation mark. The decision centered on the absence of a serial comma in a Maine state law, which could end up costing a company millions of dollars in overtime pay to truck drivers. An appeals court agreed with the drivers that the missing comma rendered the interpretation of the law ambiguous, and the lawyer representing the drivers credited the absence of the comma with winning them the case (Victor). A win for the drivers and for champions of the serial comma!
Work Cited
Victor, Daniel. “Lack of Oxford Comma Could Cost Maine Company Millions in Overtime Dispute.” The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/us/oxford-comma-lawsuit.html.
Erika Suffern is an associate editor at the MLA. She received a BA from Bard College and an MA from the University of Delaware and has ten years of editorial experience. Before joining the MLA staff in 2016, she was associate director of the Renaissance Society of America and managing editor of its journal, Renaissance Quarterly.
Punctuation with Titles
By Jennifer RappaportIn a previous Ask the MLA post, we explained how to incorporate titles ending in question marks or exclamation points into works-cited-list entries. But how do you incorporate such titles into your prose? How do you handle titles ending in other punctuation marks? And what should you do about other matters of punctuation related to titles?
Titles Ending in Question Marks or Exclamation Points in Your Prose
At the MLA, we never insert a period after a title ending in a question mark or exclamation point, but we insert a comma if doing so makes a sentence easier to read—for example, when such a title is one item in a series or when the title is contained in a nonrestrictive clause:
But when possible, we prefer to reword:
Titles Ending in Ellipses or Dashes
If a period is needed along with a title ending in an ellipsis added by us to indicate that the title continues, we insert the period before the ellipsis. If a comma is needed, we insert it after the ellipsis. All inserted punctuation is set roman.
Work Cited
Topsell, Edward. The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents. . . . London, 1658.
If the ellipsis is part of the title, we add the period or comma after the ellipsis. The ellipsis is
set in italics if the title is italicized, but the additional punctuation is set roman:
Work Cited
Reiner, Rob, director. When Harry Met Sally . . . . MGM, 1989.
We follow the same principle if a title ends in a dash:
Work Cited
Dickinson, Emily. “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—.” The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by R. W. Franklin, Harvard UP, 1999.
Titles and Subtitles
Section 1.2.1 of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook says, “Use a colon and a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless the title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point. Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.”
The handbook provides the following examples:
But sometimes titles are not straightforward. In such cases, we follow some additional rules.
For example, when a title is followed by two subtitles, we use two colons:
For works published in English, when a period separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we change the period to a colon. When a question mark, exclamation point, or dash separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we leave the original mark:
But if a title contains a title ending in a question mark or exclamation point, we add a colon:
Here the exclamation point is part of the title Absalom, Absalom!, so a colon is needed to separate the title Moby-Dick and Absalom, Absalom! from the subtitle.
In foreign language publications, we follow the source when punctuating titles.
Double Titles
For an alternative or double title in English beginning with or, we follow the first example given in section 8.165 of The Chicago Manual of Style and punctuate as follows:
But no semicolon is needed for a title in English that ends with a question mark or exclamation point:
For double titles of foreign language publications, we follow the source.
Dates in Titles
Unless a date is part of a title’s syntax, we follow section 8.163 of Chicago and set it off with a comma:
Serial Comma in Titles
Contrary to section 8.163 of Chicago, for English-language titles of books published in the United States, we add the serial comma before the conjunction preceding the final item in a series if the comma is missing. Otherwise, we follow the source. The following book was published by Verso in London, so the serial comma is not added:
Works Cited
The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2016.
MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
Jennifer Rappaport is an associate editor at the Modern Language Association. She received a BA in English and French from Vassar College and an MA in comparative literature from New York University, where she taught expository writing. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as an editor at a university press and as a freelance copyeditor and translator for commercial and academic publishers.
Commas, Conjunctions, and Modifiers
By Jennifer RappaportMany writers and even editors have trouble deciding where to place the commas in a sentence in which a modifying phrase or clause appears after a conjunction. The following are correctly punctuated examples of such sentences:
When punctuating these types of sentences, you must first determine whether the conjunction joins two independent clauses or verbs in a compound predicate. (In a compound predicate, two verbs share a subject.)
Let’s look at the first example.
Compound Predicates
Here, the conjunction (and) joins verbs (scratched and added) in a compound predicate.
Placing commas in this type of sentence is straightforward:
- Do not place a comma before the conjunction in a compound predicate.
- Always use commas around phrases (such as fretting over the punctuation) that intervene in a compound predicate.
Now let’s look at the next two examples.
Independent Clauses
In each of these examples, the conjunction joins two independent clauses and thus a comma appears before and. A comma generally precedes a conjunction that joins two independent clauses. (The comma is optional if the clauses are short and closely related: “Lightning appeared and thunder soon followed.”)
But why are there commas around to her regret but not around if it were test?
Let’s look at each example separately.
Independent Clauses with Essential Modifying Phrase or Clause
The Principle. A short modifying phrase or clause that is essential to the meaning of the sentence should not be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas at both ends. Thus, in the example above, no commas are used around the modifying clause if it were a test since the clause is short and essential to the meaning of the sentence.
The Test. You can test whether the phrase or clause is essential by omitting it. If the resulting sentence makes no sense, the phrase or clause is essential. In the example above, the sentence cannot read, “She forgot to add the commas, and she would have failed.”
Other Considerations. If the essential modifying phrase or clause is more than a few words long, however, you should place a comma at the end of it, to make the sentence easier to read:
Though not necessary, you could also insert a comma for readability after the short clause if it were a test:
Independent Clauses with Nonessential Modifying Phrase or Clause
The Principle. A nonessential phrase or clause must be set off from the rest of the sentence. In this sentence, to her regret is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
The Test. The sentence could read, “She omitted the commas, and no one understood her sentence.” Because the phrase to her regret can be omitted, it must be set off from the sentence.
Other Considerations. Some writers may prefer to omit the comma before and to avoid hemming in the conjunction. The comma before and is optional because the independent clauses are short and the comma is not needed for clarity:
You could also, as Claire Kehrwald Cook suggests, “substitute a pair of dashes for the commas enclosing the modifier,” or you could “transpose the modifier” (128):
Cook also notes that when a transitional adverb, such as fortunately, blends into a sentence, you could use commas around the term if you wish to emphasize the adverb, but they aren’t necessary (125):
But if the adverb separates the verb from its object, then commas are needed (126):
Work Cited
Cook, Claire Kehrwald. Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
Jennifer Rappaport is an associate editor at the Modern Language Association. She received a BA in English and French from Vassar College and an MA in comparative literature from New York University, where she taught expository writing. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as an editor at a university press and as a freelance copyeditor and translator for commercial and academic publishers.
To Splice or Not to Splice?
By Angela GibsonWriters should generally not use a comma to connect two independent clauses, and editors of fiction and nonfiction should be alert to this misuse of the comma. The following examples violate this principle and demonstrate what is known as the “comma splice”:
You can fix a comma splice in a number of ways: a new sentence can be formed; a different mark of punctuation, like a semicolon or a dash, can be substituted for the comma; or a conjunction can be used between the clauses:
Note, however, that commas are acceptable in idiomatic constructions when the second part of the sentence completes the sense of the first and in a series of three or more items:
Comma splices are also acceptable in fiction. In dialogue and first-person narration, for example, a character might be excited or upset and thus speak in a rush. The minimal pause conveyed by a comma can clarify sentence structure while conveying the character’s state of mind. Or the author’s style might use splices frequently for some other effect.
In editing fiction a copyeditor is often justified in making emendations for basic points of grammar, and the emendations required to avoid a comma splice are minimal, so a writer may not find them intrusive. Even a writer who uses comma splices as a device may occasionally do so unintentionally in exposition. If an author of fiction consistently breaks a rule, however, an editor would be wise to consider the author’s purpose before making changes. Editors of fiction should also be mindful of how they emend for a comma splice. Do not, for example, introduce a semicolon if the author does not use them elsewhere.
Angela Gibson is the associate director of scholarly communication at the MLA. She has a decade and a half of editorial experience and holds a PhD in Middle English from the University of Rochester. Before coming to the MLA, she taught college courses in writing and literature.
Comma Sense
By Jennifer RappaportMany usage guides provide guidance on when to use commas and when to omit them. Some commas are needed to prevent misreading, some are harmful, and others are optional. Since the mid–twentieth century, usage experts, such as Theodore M. Bernstein, have advocated using “a minimum of commas” (359). Claire Kehrwald Cook warns, “Commas call attention to words. They make readers pause and take notice. Unless you want that effect, don’t use commas that the sentence structure doesn’t require” (125). In other words, use commas only when they help make your meaning clear.
So when does a sentence have too many commas, and when does it have too few? Take the following example:
If mother is on the menu, then this sentence requires no commas. If, however, the question is addressed to mother, then a comma should be added before “mother”:
Here’s another example:
You could include all these commas, but they might distract your reader. Since any of the commas could be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence, you might pare down the punctuation in any one of a number of ways, depending on what you wish to emphasize:
When the absence of commas might cause misreading, it is best to revise. The following sentence contains several necessary commas:
The first comma is necessary to separate two long independent clauses joined by but, the next two are needed to set off the inessential clause as I explained later, and the last comma is needed to make clear that the reason the speaker didn’t hear the owls hooting was because the speaker went to bed before they appeared and not, say, because the speaker was wearing earplugs.
To pare down the commas, you might revise as follows:
When it comes to commas, usage guides can help you with the rules, but ultimately you should use comma sense.
Works Cited
Bernstein, Theodore M. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. Atheneum, 1965.
Cook, Claire Kehrwald. Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
Jennifer Rappaport is an associate editor at the Modern Language Association. She received a BA in English and French from Vassar College and an MA in comparative literature from New York University, where she taught expository writing. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as an editor at a university press and as a freelance copyeditor and translator for commercial and academic publishers.
President’s Day: A Singular Holiday?
By Jennifer RappaportWhen it comes to styling the holiday variously known as President’s Day, Presidents’ Day, and Presidents Day, authorities disagree not only about what to call the holiday but also about what the holiday celebrates.
The Federal Holiday
If you look up “Presidents’ Day” in Webster’s, you are directed to the entry “Washington’s Birthday,” the name of the federal holiday according to the National Archives (“Federal Holidays”). Webster’s notes that the holiday—celebrating George Washington, the first president of the United States—was previously celebrated on 22 February, Washington’s actual birthday (“George Washington’s Birthday”). It is now observed the third Monday in February, thanks to the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Law, established to designate Monday as the day to observe most federal holidays (Arbelbide).
The Holiday State by State
Although most states shifted the day of the holiday to Monday, not all took on the official federal holiday name (Arbelbide). For example, Minnesota calls the holiday “Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday,” celebrating both Washington and Abraham Lincoln (Minnesota State, Legislature). The official state calendar for Alabama lists the holiday as “George Washington / Thomas Jefferson Birthday,” commemorating Thomas Jefferson as well as Washington (“2017 Holiday Schedule”). Washington State calls the holiday “Presidents’ Day,” “celebrated as the anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington” (Washington State, Legislature).
The Holiday in Advertising
When the Uniform Monday Holiday Law took effect in 1971, “only two days separated Abraham Lincoln’s Friday birthday of February 12 from the Washington’s Birthday holiday that fell on February 15—the third Monday in February” (Arbelbide). Ever since, advertisers have taken advantage of the proximity of the two days to promote sales, referring to the holiday as “President’s Day,” “Presidents’ Day,” or “Presidents Day.”
The Holiday in Your Prose
So the correct way to refer to the holiday in your prose depends on your subject. If you are writing about the federal holiday, call it “Washington’s Birthday.” If you are writing about the holiday as it is observed in a particular state, consult the state’s official Web site. In other contexts, you might use one of the forms with “President” in the name. “President’s Day” uses the singular possessive, so you would likely use this form if you want to refer to a holiday celebrating Washington. “Presidents’ Day,” in the plural possessive, is the form recommended by The Chicago Manual of Style, so in our publications, we would generally use this spelling, which indicates a holiday celebrating Washington and at least one other president (“Holidays”). “Presidents Day” uses “Presidents” as an attributive noun—that is, a noun that acts like an adjective. A noun is attributive “when the relation between the plural head noun and the second noun could be expressed by the prepositions ‘for’ or ‘by’ rather than the possessive ‘of’”—for example, a teachers college is a college for teachers (Einsohn 137). If you want to refer to a holiday that is a day for celebrating all presidents of the United States, you might use this form.
Whatever you choose to call the holiday, 2017 is a good year to learn more about the American presidency and how “the personal, public, ceremonial and executive actions” of our presidents “have had a huge impact on the course of history” (“American Presidency”).
Works Cited
“The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.” The National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/american-presidency.
Arbelbide, C. L. “By George, It Is Washington’s Birthday!” Prologue Magazine, vol. 31, no. 4, Winter 2004. National Archives, www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html.
Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 2nd ed., U of California P, 2006.
“Federal Holidays.” National Archives, US National Archives and Records Administration, 3 Jan. 2017, www.archives.gov/news/federal-holidays.
“George Washington’s Birthday.” National Archives, US National Archives and Records Administration, 24 Aug. 2016, www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington.
“Holidays.” The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., sec. 8.88, U of Chicago P, 2010, www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch08/ch08_sec088.html.
Minnesota State, Legislature. 2016 Minnesota Statutes. Ch. 645, sec., subdivision 5. The Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2016, www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=645.44.
“Presidents’ Day.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2017, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/presidents%20day.
“2017 Holiday Schedule.” Inform.alabama.gov, inform.alabama.gov/calendar.aspx. Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.
“Washington’s Birthday.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2017, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/washington’s+birthday.
Washington State, Legislature. Revised Code of Washington. Ch. 1.16, sec. 050d. Washington State Legislature, apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=1.16.050. Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.
Jennifer Rappaport is an associate editor at the Modern Language Association. She received a BA in English and French from Vassar College and an MA in comparative literature from New York University, where she taught expository writing. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as an editor at a university press and as a freelance copyeditor and translator for commercial and academic publishers.
Published 17 February 2017
MLK Day the MLA Way
By Jennifer RappaportMartin Luther King Day? Martin Luther King, Jr., Day? MLK Day? There seems to be no consensus on how to style the name of this federal holiday, established to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. In deciding how to treat the name of the holiday, you should consider your audience and the purpose of your reference.
Consider also the consistent treatment of King’s name in your work. Both “Martin Luther King Jr.” (without a comma before the suffix) and “Martin Luther King, Jr.” (with a comma) are acceptable variations, but in MLA style, a comma always precedes Jr. (read more about suffixes and names in an earlier post).
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The National Archives calls the holiday “Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” following the federal policy to use “the name designated by the law” that established the holiday (“Federal Holidays”). If your goal is to consistently and accurately refer to the text of the legislation, for legal, historical, or archival reasons, use this version.
Martin Luther King Day
Merriam-Webster’s and The American Heritage Dictionary both omit Jr. in the name of the holiday, calling it “Martin Luther King Day,” but not in their entries for the man whom the holiday commemorates. If you want to avoid a discrepancy between King’s name and the holiday celebrating his birthday, you might use a different treatment. Treating the suffix as a parenthetical in the title of the holiday (e.g., “Martin Luther King, Jr., Day”) would not be acceptable—this formulation not only looks awkward but also illogically muddies the distinction between a personal name and a holiday name.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The Chicago Manual of Style, used by many book publishers, lists the holiday in its “Holidays” section as “Martin Luther King Jr. Day.” If you can handle inconsistency in the treatment of personal names and holidays, use this formulation to refer to the holiday—even when styling King’s name with a comma before the suffix, per MLA style.
MLK Day / MLK Jr. Day
Apparently the federally run Corporation for National and Community Service, which uses “MLK Day” on its Web site about King’s birthday, didn’t get the same memo as the National Archives about using the name designated by law for federal holidays. That’s OK: the goal of this site is community outreach, not documenting archival records. In casual contexts, you might use either of these formulations (note: see the title of this blog post).
However you style the name of the holiday, take a moment to remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., or find one of the many opportunities for community service taking place to commemorate him.
Works Cited
“Federal Holidays.” National Archives, US National Archives and Records Administration, 3 Jan. 2017, www.archives.gov/news/federal-holidays.
“Holidays.” The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., sec 8.88, U of Chicago P, 2010, www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch08/ch08_sec088.html.
“King, Martin Luther, Jr.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2017, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/king.
“King, Martin Luther, Jr.” The American Heritage Dictionary of English Language, 3rd ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1992, p. 992.
“Martin Luther King Day.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2017, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/martin%20luther%20king%20day.
“Martin Luther King Day.” The American Heritage Dictionary of English Language, 3rd ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1992, p. 1104.
Jennifer Rappaport is an associate editor at the Modern Language Association. She received a BA in English and French from Vassar College and an MA in comparative literature from New York University, where she taught expository writing. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as an editor at a university press and as a freelance copyeditor and translator for commercial and academic publishers.
Published 13 January 2017
When citing a work whose title ends in a question mark or exclamation point, should I also include a period?
The MLA template of core elements calls for a period after the title of a source, but if the title of a source ends in a question mark or exclamation point, do not include a period. Question marks or exclamation points, as stronger marks, always supersede a period:
If, however, the title of the container ends in a question mark or exclamation point, do add a comma after the question mark. MLA style allows a comma after a question mark or exclamation point if the comma facilitates reading or if rewording is impossible. Since a works-cited-list entry cannot be reworded and since the MLA template calls for a comma after the title of a container, retain the comma:
Published 11 October 2016
Does the MLA abbreviate United States U.S. or US?
In its publications, the MLA uses the abbreviation US. (Practices among publishers vary, however, and it is not incorrect to use U.S. Whichever abbreviation you choose, be consistent.)
The MLA prefers to spell out the name United States in the main text of a work, in both adjective and noun forms. It uses the adjective form sparingly.
Do I use a comma before Jr. and Sr.? What about names followed by roman numerals?
In the main text of your written work, use a suffix that is an essential part of the name—like Jr. or a roman numeral—when you cite a person’s name in full. Do not place a comma before numbered suffixes:
John D. Rockefeller IV
Place a comma before Jr. and Sr.:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In a sentence, add a comma after Jr. or Sr. if words follow; the suffix is parenthetical:
Sammy Davis, Jr., was a member of the rat pack.
But see the MLA Handbook, section 2.1.2, on inverting such names in the list of works cited.
