In Defense of the Serial Comma

ESSAYS BY JOSE CARILLO RETROSPECTIVE:
Using the serial comma is not just a matter of stylistic preference

It might seem like it’s just a matter of personal stylistic preference, but unlike most journalists and writers, I am a consistent user of the serial comma in both my private correspondence and published work. The serial comma, for those who happen not to have heard of it, is the comma placed immediately before the conjunctions “and,” “or,” or “nor” that precedes the final item in a serial list of three or more items, as in this sentence: “The European tourist visited Manila, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bangkok last summer.” Most newspaper writers and editors routinely do away with serial commas, though, and would write that sentence this way: “The European tourist visited Manila, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok last summer.”

Now the question is: Am I just being dense or bullheaded in using the serial comma when most everybody else routinely gets rid of it? I had the occasion to defend my preference when it was challenged by a foreign reader of my English-usage column in The Manila Times in 2019, and I thought of posting that defense in that week’s edition of the Forum for the appreciation of those who still have an open mind about the matter. 

             INFOGRAPHIC CREDIT: KAUFERDMC.COM 

Here's that column of mine on the serial comma:

Sometime ago, a foreign reader of my column in The Manila Times raised an eyebrow over my use of the comma before the conjunction “and” in this sentence: “The (author) unravels the various mechanisms and tools of English for combining words and ideas into clear, logical, and engaging writing.”

The foreign reader commented: “There is a comma after the second to the last adjective, and I noted that you do this all the time. Has some authority changed convention?”

That comma that made him uncomfortable is, of course, the serial comma, which is also called the Oxford comma and the Harvard comma. It’s the comma placed by some writers like me—but avoided by most editors and writers of Philippine newspapers and magazines—immediately before the conjunction “and,” “or,” or “nor” that precedes the final item in a list of three or more items. Admittedly, its use has remained debatable up to this day among writers and editors in various parts of the world.

Here’s how I justified my consistent use of the serial comma to that foreign reader: 

Yes, I use the serial comma all the time as a matter of stylistic choice. I just happen to have imbibed the serial-comma tradition from Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, the Chicago Manual of Style, and H.W. Fowler’s Modern English Usage. However, during my early days as a campus journalist and later as a general assignments reporter for a daily newspaper (The Philippines Herald, 1972), I would routinely knock off my serial commas because that newspaper I was working with had adopted the no-serial-comma preference of American print media, particularly The New York Times and the Associated Press. If I didn’t knock off those serial commas myself, my editors would do so anyway and sullenly admonish me not to foist my personal preference over the house rule.   

But no, the convention on whether or not to use the serial comma hasn’t changed at all. I’m aware that the no-serial-comma tradition remains a widespread stylistic practice of the mass media in the United Kingdom as well as in Canada, Australia, and South Africa. But personally, I just want to be consistent after making a personal choice based on my own experience in dealing with problems of punctuation over the years.

       The Oxford comma: Decried, defended, and debated

Of course, the usefulness of the serial comma might not be readily apparent and appreciated when the items in a sentence with a serial list consist only of a single word or two, as in the following sentences:

“She bought some apples, oranges and pears.”

“For the role of Hamlet, the choices are Fred Santos, Tony Cruz, Jimmy Reyes and George Perez.” 

But see what happens when the listed items consist of long phrases with more than four or five words:

“The major businesses in the domestic pet services industry are traditional veterinary services, fancy pet grooming and makeover shops, a wide assortment of animal and bird food, freshwater and marine fish of various kinds and aquarium equipment and supplies for industrial and home use.”

Now, try to figure out where each enumerative item ends and begins in the phrase “freshwater and marine fish of various kinds and aquarium equipment and supplies for industrial and home use.”

In contrast, see how clear and unequivocal the last two items in the list become when we deploy a serial comma between “various kinds” and “aquarium equipment,” as follows:

“The major businesses in the domestic pet services industry are traditional veterinary services, fancy pet grooming and makeover shops, a wide assortment of animal and bird food, freshwater and marine fish of various kinds, and aquarium equipment and supplies for industrial and home use.”

I therefore think it’s better to use a serial comma by default in such situations regardless of how long the phrase for each item is in the enumerative sequence. This way, we can consistently avoid confusing readers and avoid violating their sense of rhythm and balance. (July 4, 2009)

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This article first appeared in the weekly column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in The Manila Times, June 4, 2009 © 2009 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Retrospective on Notable Works in English by Our Very Own

Overlooked for Months, Connecting Flights Finally Connects With Me

(First posted in Jose Carillo's English Forum, November 19, 2010)

Lest I be accused of insensitivity or indifference to notable writing by some of the finest contemporary Filipino writers in English, I am writing this much belated introduction to Connecting Flights: Filipinos Write from Elsewhere (Anvil Publishing, 182 pages), an anthology of essays, fiction, and verse edited by Filipino journalist and writer Ruel S. de Vera. I must admit that I had completely overlooked the book all through the past 10 months or so, my nose having been so close to the grindstone minding my own writing and editing jobs and seminar engagements and, of course, putting together this Forum’s weekly updates. In fact, although I visit my favorite Metro Manila bookstores often enough, it was only after my wife and I took connecting flights of our own—from  Honolulu and back for a five-day stay in the United States for our only daughter’s wedding in Monterey, California, in early October of 2010—that Connecting Flights finally connected and caught my eye from the shelves of one of the local bookstores. (This, perhaps, is as much a measure of the extent of my personal distractedness as of the dearth of marketing efforts and media exposure for locally produced literary works in the Philippines in contrast to those for foreign titles.)

Says de Vera in his introduction to the anthology: “I am honored to be able to invite passengers whom I admire and hold genuine affection for. Connecting Flights boasts of a manifest with some of my favorite writer friends, each checking in with poem, fiction or essay carried forward with the greatest velocity. These are the passengers I want to be with when embarking on a trip that is to change everything, regardless of destination and duration.”

Three of the contributors to Connecting Flights are friends or acquaintances of mine, namely Butch Dalisay Jr. and Krip Yuson, both of whom are Hall of Famers of the Palanca Awards for Literature, and Manolo Quezon, previously with the Philippine Daily Inquirer but now working in the Communications Office of the Office of the Philippine President. Thus, specific words of praise for their featured essays coming from me might sound biased, and those for the works of the 17 other contributors might unjustifiably pale or shine more brightly in comparison.* Either way might just get me into a tight fix with any of these highly talented writers. I have therefore decided to just provide a link to a well-thought-out review of Connecting Flights by the blogger Sumthinblue who, in a web posting last January 7, 2010, rated the collection “excellent” and “a great book for people who love travel, whether they’re jetting off in planes or in their imagination.”   

I wholeheartedly agree with her ratings for Connecting Flights on both counts.

The 20 contributors to Connecting Flights are as follows (in alphabetical order): Dean Francis Alfar, Jose Dalisay Jr., Lourd De Veyra, Karla P. Delgado, Rosario A. Garcellano, Ramil Digal Gulle, Christina Pantoja-Hidalgo, Alya B. Honasan, Marne L. Kilates, Angelo R. Lacuesta, Ambeth R. Ocampo, Charlson Ong, Manuel L. Quezon III, D.M. Reyes, Sev Sarmenta, Alice M. Sun-Cua, Yvette Tan, Joel M. Toledo, Alfred A. Yuson, and Jessica Zafra.

Read Sumthinblue’s review of Connecting Flights in the Bookmarked! website now!

ABOUT THE BOOK’S EDITOR:

Ruel S. de Vera writes for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and is associate editor of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. He holds a Master’s in Journalism from the Ateneo de Manila University and teaches at its department of communication. A literary writer and book editor, he has received the Palanca Award for Literature, the Philippines Free Press Literary Award, and the Catholic Mass Media Award.

Distinguishing direct speech from indirect or reported speech

What constitutes a dependent clause in reported speech - 1 

A Masteral student in Myanmar doing comparative research on the four types of sentences in English—namely simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex—asked for help in early December [2020] on how to distinguish direct speech from indirect or reported speech, and how to explain what constitutes a dependent clause in reported speech.

Paraphrasing what AungMyo said: “Our teacher said that the direct-speech statement ‘I was hungry’ becomes the dependent clause in reported speech, but in my research I need to explain precisely why and how ‘I was hungry’ becomes that dependent clause.”

Let me begin by saying that direct statements like “I was hungry” are simple and straightforward, but it gets more complicated when we report that someone else has uttered that statement. Perhaps we can’t remember the exact words said or just want to summarize them, just focus on the salient points, or perhaps improve the grammar of what was said. When we do these things, we enter the realm of what’s called reported speech or indirect speech.

The pivotal factor in reported speech is the tense of the reporting verb. When the  reporting verb is in the simple present tense, present perfect tense, or future tense, the operative verb in the reported statement remains unchanged; often, only the subject noun or pronoun in the quoted statement need to be changed.

Consider that the directly quoted statement “I am hungry” was said by your close friend Dewi Thant Z.

In the simple present tense, that statement can be rendered in reported speech as follows:

“My close friend Dewi Thant says she is hungry.” 

(You say this to someone beside you just right after Dewi said “I am hungry.”)

In the present perfect tense:

“My close friend Dewi Thant has said (that) she is hungry.” 

(You say this to someone beside you perhaps several minutes after Dewi said it.”

And in the future tense:

“My close friend Dewi Thant will say (that) she is hungry.” 

(In anticipation, you can tell this to someone through your mobile phone several minutes before actually Dewi says it.)

In all three of the reporting tenses above, the only grammatically significant change in the reported statement is the replacement of the personal pronoun “I” with “My close friend Dewi Thant.” Of course, the conjunction “that” is used to introduce the reported statement, making it take the form of a dependent clause in reported speech.

In informal writing, however, the conjunction “that” can often be dropped to make the reported speech easier to articulate, as we can see in the following “that”-less constructions of the simple present tense, present perfect tense, and future tense renditions: 

“My close friend Dewi Thant says she is hungry.” 

“My close friend Dewi Thant has said she is hungry.” 

“My close friend Dewi Thant will say she is hungry.”

But things in reported speech become more iffy when the reporting verb is in the past tense. Take this direct quote from a Philippine official about a Somalia ship-piracy issue some years back: 

“At the moment, we have not gotten any feedback as to the advisability of issuing an official ban for Filipino seamen going there (Somalia).”

Quite simply, that direct quote can be rendered in reported speech this way:

“The Philippine official said (that) they had not gotten any feedback at the moment as to the advisability of issuing an official ban for Filipino seamen going to Somalia.”

When the reporting verb is in the simple past tense, the operative verb in the quoted statement—the dependent clause—generally moves one tense backwards in reported speech. However, that rule applies only when the action in the reported statement is a consummated and not a repeated or habitual one.

This article appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the December 17, 2020 Internet edition of The Manila Times,© 2020 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

What constitutes a dependent clause in reported speech - 2

In last week’s column, I pointed out that the general rule in reported speech is to move the operative verb in the directly quoted statement one tense backwards. We also need to change the time and place signifiers in the directly quoted statement to conform to the sense of the reported statement. 

Take this direct quote last week from a health official: 

“This cold season, the public is advised to take even stronger measures to avoid contracting the Covid-19 virus.” 

In reported speech for a news report: 

“The health official said last week that during the cold season, the public should take even stronger measures to avoid contracting the Covid-19 virus.”

            IMAGE CREDIT: ESL.COM AT PINTEREST.COM

What follows are more examples of this conversion from direct speech to reported speech.

Direct quote from a bill collector to a delinquent customer two weeks ago: 

“The company is giving you only until the end of the month to settle your long-overdue account.”  

In reported speech: 

“The bill collector told the delinquent customer two weeks ago that she only had until the end of the month to settle her long-overdue account.”

Direct quote from a manager to a sales supervisor yesterday: 

“See me tomorrow to discuss your monthly sales.” 

Reported speech of what the manager told the sales supervisor today: 

“My manager asked me yesterday to see him today to discuss my monthly sales.”

Direct quote from an irate wife to her husband sometime ago: 

“Tell me what you and that woman were doing at the park yesterday.” 

In reported speech by the wife during a court hearing: 

“Your Honor, I asked my husband what he and that woman were doing at that park that day.”

Direct quote from a newly married woman to a lady friend just hours ago: 

“Gerry and I met last year during a heavy downpour and, well, it was love at first sight.” 

In reported speech by the lady friend to a common acquaintance of theirs: 

“Cynthia told me that she and Gerry met the year before during a heavy downpour and it was love at first sight.”

Apart from the time signifiers, we also need to routinely change such place and pointing signifiers as “here,” “there,” and “that” in directly quoted statements to accurately reflect the sense of the reported statement. 

Direct quote from a police officer to a car driver:

“You drove against the red light at the  intersection there on Rizal Avenue corner Recto Avenue.” 

Reported speech by the arrested car driver at the police station: 

“The arrested driver denied the traffic enforcer’s claim that he had driven against the red light in that intersection at that time.” 

Finally, when the operative verb in a directly quoted statement is in modal form, we need to always change the modal auxiliary to its past tense form in reported speech.

Direct quote from a friend: 

“I may go to New York next month.” 

Reported speech: 

“My friend said he might go to New York next month.”

Direct quote from the general manager: 

“The staff will leave only upon my instructions.” 

Reported speech by a supervisor to his subordinates: 

“The general manager made it clear that the staff should leave only upon his instructions.”

Direct quote from the company’s chief operating officer:  

“All projects must be finished by yearend.” 

Reported speech by the company president to division managers about the CEO’s directive: 

“Our CEO directed us that all projects have to be finished by yearend.”

With this, we are done with our quick review of reported speech.

This article, 2,025th  of the series, earlier appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the December 24, 2020 Internet edition of  The Manila Times,© 2020 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.