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Latest post Tue, Sep 2 2008 5:09 PM by A Cornish Pasty. 2 replies.
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Anonymous  +  561591 Tue, 02 Sep 08 04:00 PM
Is anyone able to settle an ongoing debate regarding the use of commas in lists when brackets are also involved?

When my mum proof-reads my stepdad's books and articles, she always adds commas after the brackets in the lists. The brackets usually refer to Latin names of animals. It's a bit difficult to explain but it should become clear in the example:

"The cats seen included the lynx (Lynx lynx), jaguar (Panthera onca) and leopard (Panthera pardus)."

However, my stepdad removes the comma after (Lynx lynx) on the basis that the closing bracket offers enough of a pause in the sentence to render the comma unecessary. I agree with my mum on the basis that without the comma the sentence would be clumsy and nonsensical, were the sections in parentheses to be removed.

Who is right? Or is one of these 'it's all down to writing style' matters?

Thanks.
Clive  +  561596 Tue, 02 Sep 08 04:08 PM
Hi,

Looks odd to me without the commas. I agree with your Mum. (Y) Yes

Best wishes, Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004
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El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo
A Cornish Pasty  +  561627 Tue, 02 Sep 08 05:09 PM
I agree.

Even without the brackets, it's still a list, and should be punctuated as such:

The cats seen included the lynx, jaguar and leopard.
Joined on Tue, Dec 18 2007
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