47 ms·
They went to Oregon with Betty, a maid, and a cook. Is Betty a maid or did they go with 3 people?
by goodoldneon 2y ago
They went to Oregon with Betty, a maid, and a cook.
Is Betty a maid or did they go with 3 people?
- meowster 2y agoThree people; otherwise it should be, "They went to Oregon with a cook, and Betty, a maid." Or better yet: "They went to Oregon with a cook, and maid named Betty."
- happytoexplain 2y agoThis could be two people, but would normally be written with a different separator: "Betty, a maid; and a cook" (just removing the comma doesn't help because then Betty could be a maid and a cook). As-is, the implication is that this is three people. If you would like to make that more explicit, you would instead re-structure the sentence†, so it's not highly relevant to the serial-comma-vs-no issue. †For example: Betty, one maid, and one cook. Betty, and a maid and a cook (a little awkward) A maid, a cook, and Betty (depends on how you want Betty's inclusion to land for the reader)
- goodoldneon 2y agoRight, you can change punctuation to clarify it. However, it doesn't change the fact that the Oxford comma could make the list readable as a parenthetical phrase. I'm not saying the Oxford comma is bad. I'm just saying that it isn't 100% perfect as many people imply.