Word Wise

Comma Comma Comma Comma Comma Chameleon

The grammar question I get asked more than any other: Is there a comma between the last item in a series and the word “and”? In other words, is it “potatoes, artichokes, and radishes” or “potatoes, artichokes and radishes”? My answer is always the same: It depends who you ask. The Associated Press Stylebook, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, and many other stylebooks used by newspapers and magazines suggest forgoing that last comma unless doing so would cause confusion on the part of the reader. No confusion: I bought flip-flops, a Speedo and goggles Confusion (not to mention consternation): I dedicate this book to my parents, Beyoncé and God. In this case, a comma would clear things up nicely. Strunk and White, in their classic Elements of Style, say to always always always use the serial comma to avoid ambiguity: “use a comma after each term,” no ifs, ands, or buts, they declare. The Chicago Manual of Style, the United States Government Printing Office’s Style Manual, and Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage agree. Here’s my advice: Unless your client requires you to slavishly follow AP style, use the comma. It can’t hurt, after all, and it will avoid uncertainty. Just ask my parents, Elaine and Seymour.

Note: Despite the AP and NYT rule stated here, I really don’t understand why people refrain from using a comma before the last item in a series. It’s not exactly keeping me up nights - to be honest, issues of grammar never prevent me from sleeping - but since there’s nothing wrong with using it, and it always clears up any confusion, why not just use it?

Prefixes - Not Broken, Don't Fix

This is why people don’t like studying grammar. Look up “prefix” online and you might find this definition: “A prefix is a type of affix that precedes the morphemes to which it can attach.” We know, however, that a prefix is merely a letter or group of letters that when added to the front of a word change its meaning. What we don’t always know, though, is whether to put a hyphen between the prefix and the original word. Generally speaking, the answer is no. Prefixes, after all, are not words themselves so they do not take a hyphen. It’s “nonprofit” not “non-profit”; “subtotal,” not “sub-total”; “bicoastal,” not “bi-coastal,” etc. There are, however, exceptions. —       To avoid confusion, use a hyphen when the prefix ends in a vowel and the original word starts with the same vowel: re-election, for instance (exceptions are cooperate and coordinate) —        Use a hyphen when the new word would result in one that means something else: I re-sent the letter so you wouldn’t resent me. Please re-sort the invitations so we can get to the resort and have a drink! —        Use a hyphen when the new word would be just too darn hard to read otherwise: pro-choice instead of prochoice, non-nuclear instead of nonnuclear, etc.

Adverb Alert

There are those who unequivocally declare that writers should hardly ever – and if possible, never – use adverbs, those usually ly words that characterize verbs (and sometimes adjectives and occasionally other adverbs). I’m not one of those people. However, it is best to avoid adverbs when the context of the verb itself implicitly characterizes the situation. Here’s what I mean. A press release stated that a company “generously donated $2 million” to a good cause – “generously” as opposed to what? Parsimoniously? Grudgingly? A $2 million donation is, implicitly, generous; it doesn’t need further explanation.  Another document stated that a company was “proactively researching new ways” to provide a particular service. Again, “proactively” as opposed to what? Lackadaisically? Listlessly? Research is being conducted – it adds nothing to the reader’s knowledge to know that it’s being conducted with gusto. In both these cases – and these are two of many – the adverb is not only an unnecessary addition, but a barrier to clarity and conciseness, characteristics we all should be (you’ll pardon my adverb) relentlessly striving for.

Note: Ok, I admit that these particular examples, both real, drive me to drink (or would if I was anywhere near a Manhattan, straight up). In our profession we tend to lard on extra words, but often, as here, those extra words actually act like flares that warn “bullsh*t ahead! bullsh*t ahead!” Don’t let adverbs get in the way of a good story.