Here’s an interesting question posed to me recently: Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly? Look for fresh basil at your local grocery store, and, if it isn’t available, tell the ...

A New York Times story last month on the new head of Britain’s state run health care system telling employees to avoid using the Oxford comma caught the eye of reader Dan Worrells of Lake San Marcos.

DEAR RICHARD: The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the comma used before the conjunction in a list of three or more items. For example: “I like to eat apples, bananas, and oranges.” I ...