The Oxford Comma wars are over!

22,119 views ・ 2017-04-09

Learn English with Papa Teach Me


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
So men,
0
0
1880
00:03
It's come to this.
1
3160
1960
00:05
War between our two schools of thought
2
5340
3620
00:09
Years from now, they'll call this war...
3
9140
4300
00:16
For years, linguists, grammar nerds, and pedants
4
16560
2880
00:19
have battled over the Oxford comma
5
19500
1900
00:21
In a series of three or more items, should there be a comma after the penultimate item?
6
21560
4240
00:25
Or...
7
25880
1540
00:27
Meh
8
27480
660
00:28
Two schools of thought: The pro Oxford Commanists.
9
28780
2400
00:31
and the anti commas meet today to
10
31200
1890
00:33
finally decide its fate
11
33090
1750
00:37
The Oxford Commanists have made their arguments known
12
37080
3480
00:40
It avoids confusion, If I say:
13
40760
1840
00:45
Without that comma, it implies Obama and Trump are part of the gang!
14
45520
3560
00:49
How do they not get it!?
15
49540
1320
00:51
COMMA!
16
51860
2000
00:54
Hah! The same tired argument!
17
54560
2360
00:57
We get it from context!
18
57020
1380
00:58
We know Obama and Trump aren't in a gang so it's redundant!
19
58600
2900
01:01
NO COMMA!
20
61660
800
01:03
Isn't it strange that we as Americans
21
63120
2600
01:05
Fight FOR the 'Oxford' comma
22
65720
3520
01:09
While the British and their media fight against it
23
69680
3980
01:14
Is it just the name "Oxford"?
24
74120
1580
01:15
If it were called the 'Delaware comma',
25
75800
1800
01:17
Would it have this much support?
26
77600
1640
01:19
I guarantee you it would not!
27
79440
1780
01:21
And so, we must fight to the death
28
81940
3340
01:25
To decide if the Oxford Comma dies,
29
85460
3280
01:28
Or lives on forever in all its glory!
30
88920
3320
01:32
COMMA!
31
92780
1100
01:34
There is a consensus on this
32
94920
1720
01:36
That that extra comma is pedantic and prissy
33
96780
2260
01:45
Hah! You're saying the queen is an Oxford man and a poet!
34
105480
3740
01:49
Even with an Oxford Comma there,
35
109440
1780
01:51
The previous coma doesn't necessarily stop the Queen from being an Oxford man
36
111340
3900
01:55
Enough! Now we settle this!
37
115400
3260
02:00
Prepare to die, Oxford Commanist!
38
120600
2260
02:03
Actually, sir, I didn't agree to come and fight
39
123000
2820
02:05
So I need to leave!
40
125840
1500
02:07
Johnson, what is this nonsense!? You signed a contract to fight!
41
127500
2880
02:10
Ah but no sir, If you read the contract,
42
130560
2300
02:12
It specifically stipulates that our activities would be limited to:
43
132880
3720
02:21
Yes, exactly. You signed a contract agreeing to be shipped to war
44
141980
2660
02:24
and you were shipped to war.
45
144640
1900
02:26
Congratulations, Johnson you can read
46
146540
1960
02:28
No no no. See in that clause, it specifically states:
47
148700
2880
02:31
"Training for combat or being shipped to war"
48
151740
2880
02:34
I only signed up for training, not actual war!
49
154720
3220
02:38
I'm with them on this! If you actually wanted us
50
158200
2000
02:40
to fight in the war you should have used
51
160200
1280
02:41
that Oxford comma to show two separate things
52
161480
2140
02:43
Johnson I grant you that perhaps
53
163860
1340
02:45
in contracts it's necessary to avoid confusion, but
54
165260
2460
02:47
Let's not forget what this fight is really about
55
167920
2780
02:50
The Oxford Comma...
56
170940
1220
02:52
It clogs up writing!
57
172820
1280
02:54
Enough!
58
174440
1240
02:55
Prepare to die, Oxford Commanists!
59
175900
2560
03:01
Wait
60
181780
500
03:02
What?
61
182300
500
03:02
You didn't put a comma between "red white and blue"
62
182860
1940
03:05
Of course not. It seems less free!
63
185300
1600
03:07
And America is all about freedom baby!
64
187040
1780
03:08
What?! I'm going to say:
65
188820
1060
03:12
Do you hear how that sounds?
66
192920
940
03:14
Do you HEAR how that sounds!?
67
194380
1920
03:16
But wait!
68
196840
880
03:19
If I can make an exception,
69
199620
1780
03:21
and you can make an exception,
70
201580
1820
03:24
Why can't we all just get along?!
71
204040
1860
03:26
Co-exist in this grammatical whirlwind of a language
72
206220
3360
03:30
I guess we could just use it when it improves clarity
73
210020
2760
03:32
And perhaps we should use it to avoid confusion
74
212980
2600
03:35
particularly in contracts
75
215660
1300
03:37
And not be dicks about it
76
217820
1360
03:39
Yes. Exactly.
77
219440
1160
03:42
After all it is just one comma
78
222040
1820
03:44
I love you
79
224860
1220
03:46
I love you,
80
226080
920
03:47
I love you, friend
81
227000
820
03:48
I love you too, bud.
82
228100
1580

Original video on YouTube.com
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7