2 comments

1. 

   Lorne Anderson · August 17, 2015 - 12:25 pm · Reply→

   No, I would say the comma before ‘and’ was unnecessary, in written form anyway. I have spent so much time writing to be heard, both in radio and speech writing that my default style is oral. The spoken word is different from the written one, and my posts are usually best read aloud for full impact.

   Being a language nerd can be fun. My brother teaches grammar at a university I won’t name here. We too can have some lively family discussions.

2. 

   paulthinkingoutloud · August 17, 2015 - 9:28 am · Reply→

   With two aspiring polyglots in the family, one of whom is an English writing major, the use of the Oxford comma, and commas in general, is certain to surface on any long car trips. (Hashtag: Language Nerds).

   Oh dear, my comment is longer than the post! (Was the comma before ‘and’ needed above? Normally I would have favored an em-dash before and after the clause that followed.)

   Oh no, now it’s longer!