Hand-book of punctuation

by William Johnson Cocker

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also.”—John xiv. 12.

Rule XIV. A Series of Words.—1. When a series of words, of the same part of speech, are connected by and, or, nor, they should not be separated from each other by punctuation marks.

“The fruits and flowers and shrubs sent forth grateful perfumes.”—Irving.

Some writers place a comma before each and. This, however, is not necessary.

2. When a conjunction is used only with the last word in the series, a comma should be placed before the conjunction and between the other words.

The fruits, flowers, and shrubs sent forth grateful perfumes.

3. When the conjunctions are omitted, a comma should be placed between each word and also at the end of the series.

The fruits, flowers, shrubs, sent forth grateful perfumes.

REMARKS.