The Listing Comma

The listing comma is used as a kind of substitute for the word and, or sometimes for or. It occurs in two slightly different circumstances. First, it is used in a list when three or more words, phrases or even complete sentences are joined by the word and or or; we might call this construction an X, Y and Z list:

The Three Musketeers were Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

Hungarian is spoken in Hungary, in western Rumania, in northern Serbia and in parts of Austria and Slovakia.

You can fly to Bombay via Moscow, via Athens or via Cairo.

Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian and I speak Spanish.

We spent our evenings chatting in the cafés, watching the sun set over the harbour, stuffing ourselves with the local crabs and getting pleasantly sloshed on retsina.

Note that in all these examples the commas could be replaced by the word and or or, though the result would be rather clumsy:

The Three Musketeers were Athos and Porthos and Aramis.

Hungarian is spoken in Hungary and in western Rumania and in northern Serbia and in parts of Austria and Slovakia.

You can fly to Bombay via Moscow or via Athens or via Cairo.

Lisa speaks French and Juliet speaks Italian and I speak Spanish.

We spent our evenings chatting in the cafés and watching the sun set over the harbour and stuffing ourselves with the local crabs and getting pleasantly sloshed on retsina.

Observe that you can connect three or more complete sentences with listing commas, as in the Lisa/Juliet example above. Note the difference here:

Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian and I speak Spanish.

*Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian.

Remember, you must not join two complete sentences with a comma, but three or more complete sentences may be joined with listing commas plus and or or.

Note also that it is not usual in British usage to put a listing comma before the word and or or itself (though American usage regularly puts one there). So, in British usage, it is not usual to write

The Three Musketeers were Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

This is reasonable, since the listing comma is a substitute for the word and, not an addition to it. However, you should put a comma in this position if doing so would make your meaning clearer:

My favourite opera composers are Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, and Gilbert and Sullivan.

Here the comma before and shows clearly that Gilbert and Sullivan worked together. If you omit the comma, the result might be confusing:

*My favourite opera composers are Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Gilbert and Sullivan.

Here, the reader might possibly take Mozart and Gilbert as the pair who worked together. The extra comma removes the problem.

A listing comma is also used in a list of modifiers which all modify the same thing. This time there will usually be no and present at all, but again such a comma could be replaced by and without destroying the sense:

This is a provocative, disturbing book.

Her long, dark, glossy hair fascinated me.

Try replacing the commas by and:

This is a provocative and disturbing book.

Her long and dark and glossy hair fascinated me.

The sense is unchanged, though the second example, at least, is much clumsier without the commas.

Observe the difference in the next two examples:

She gave me an antique ivory box.

I prefer Australian red wines to all others.

This time there are no commas. It would be wrong to write

*She gave me an antique, ivory box.

*I prefer Australian, red wines to all others.

Why the difference? In these examples, a listing comma cannot be used because there is no list: the word and cannot possibly be inserted:

*She gave me an antique and ivory box.

*I prefer Australian and red wines to all others.

The reason for the difference is that the modifiers this time do not modify the same thing. In the first example, ivory modifies box, but antique modifies ivory box, not just box. In the second example, Australian modifies red wines, not just wines.

So the rules are clear:

• Use a listing comma in a list wherever you could conceivably use the word and (or or) instead. Do not use a listing comma anywhere else.

• Put a listing comma before and or or only if this is necessary to make your meaning clear.

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