![]() ![]() I spoke to the director, Jan Sorenson and Tristan Ross.“Jan Sorenson” can only be read as an appositive if it’s surrounded by commas: Is the director’s name Jan Sorenson, or are they two different people? Here, leaving the comma out actually removes the ambiguity. I spoke to the director, Jan Sorenson, and Tristan Ross.This occurs when the first item is singular rather than plural: I spoke to the directors, Jan Sorenson, and Tristan Ross.īut it’s just as easy to find examples where adding the Oxford comma actually makes the list less clear. ![]() It’s not clear whether this is a list of three items (“the directors,” “Jan Sorenson,” and “Tristan Ross”) or whether “Jan Sorenson and Tristan Ross” should be read as an appositive-a phrase that tells us who “the directors” are.Īdding the Oxford comma in this case makes it 100% clear that Jan Sorenson and Tristan Ross are not the same people as the directors: I spoke to the directors, Jan Sorenson and Tristan Ross.Lists where items could be misread as appositives ![]()
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