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The woman took her son, and her nephew to a course on safe driving.

The Oxford Comma

The Oxford comma, also known as the Harvard comma or the serial comma, is the comma preceding the final item in a list (They went to the park, dinner, and a movie). The Chicago Style manual recommends using it. The Associated Press Stylebook -- the guide of choice for HowStuffWorks.com -- recommends against using it. It's mostly a matter of preference for those not writing professionally or academically.

Wrong: The woman took her son, and her nephew to a course on safe driving.

Why: There's a comma before the conjunction joining compound direct objects.

Right: The woman took her son and her nephew to a course on safe driving.

Why: Just like with compound predicates, two compound objects ("son" and "nephew") joined by a conjunction ("and") do not take a comma before (or after) the conjunction. However, three or more compound direct objects would need commas, since they would constitute a list (The woman took her son, her daughter and her nephew to a course on safe driving).

Next, another compound issue …

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  • 10: In the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy is played by Judy Garland.
  • 9: He was born in January, 1990.
  • 8: 14 January, 1990
  • 7: The president's son was named John F. Kennedy, Jr.
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  • 4: She hated going to the dentist, and cried the whole way there.
  • 3: The woman took her son, and her nephew to a course on safe driving.
  • 2: She hated going to the dentist, and, she cried the whole way there.
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