[Grammar] Sun, Sand, and Sea. The final Comma!

[Ducklet Cat]

Which is more correct:

1. Sun, Sand, and Sea.

2. Sun, Sand and Sea.

I think number 1 is, because not putting a comma makes sand and sea one thing as opposed to sun. While putting a comma after each one shows that each of the three has its own entity.

Someone told me, that you don't have to be so accurate, and people are used in English to not putting a comma before the last "and" in a phrase like this one.

Then this example came to my mind:

Coke, burger, fish, and chips
Coke, burger, fish and chips, and smoothie

"Fish, and chips" are just two different thing
while "fish and chips" is a plate on its own.


So, what do you think? Do you agree to my point to f view that a comma is a must before the final and?

Thanks

[bhaisahab]

No, I don't agree, it should be 'Sun, sand and sea.'

[RonBee]

There was the sun, the sand, and the sea. And there was you and me.

[Barb_D]

That final comma, before the "and" is called the serial or Oxford comma. I always use it.

It's a matter of style whether to use it or not when you have a simple list like yours. Just be consistent. Don't say I love the sand, sea, and salt of the ocean in one place and then say I visited Italy, Grecece and Turkey in the next place.

Sometimes it adds clarity. Say that "peas and carrots" is one dish.
My favorite vegetables are corn, peas and carrots, and yellow squash.

In this case, the final comma adds clarity.

[susiedqq]

Toast, bacon and eggs.

[Ducklet Cat]

Originally Posted by Barb_D

That final comma, before the "and" is called the serial or Oxford comma. I always use it.

It's a matter of style whether to use it or not when you have a simple list like yours. Just be consistent. Don't say I love the sand, sea, and salt of the ocean in one place and then say I visited Italy, Grecece and Turkey in the next place.

Sometimes it adds clarity. Say that "peas and carrots" is one dish.
My favorite vegetables are corn, peas and carrots, and yellow squash.

In this case, the final comma adds clarity.

Thanks :)

[bhaisahab]

The serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma) is the comma used immediately before a grammatical conjunction (nearly always and or or; sometimes nor) that precedes the last item in a list of three or more items. The phrase "Portugal, Spain, and France", for example, is written with the serial comma, while "Portugal, Spain and France", identical in meaning, is written without it.[1][2][3]
There is no global consensus among writers or editors on the use of the serial comma.[4] Most authorities on American English recommend its use, but it is not so frequently used in British English (see extended treatment below, including a survey of published recommendations in Usage and subsequent sections). In many languages (e.g., French,[5] Italian,[6] Polish,[7] Spanish[8]) the serial comma is not normally used, although it may be employed in cases where it aids clarity or the prosody to be used when reading.


From Wikipedia.

[Ducklet Cat]

Thanks everyone.
Thanks a lot bhaisahab.