She has been to France, Italy and Spain.

這句話的標點對嗎？and前面要加逗號（comma）嗎？

這就是今天的話題了。這個用在and和or前面、有三者及以上并列時的逗號叫做serial comma，或者series comma、 Oxford comma、Harvard comma。

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基本原則

簡單來說，加不加這個逗號，主要是習慣和地域問題。絕大部分的美國出版寫作規(guī)范（style）都會要求加上這個逗號；而大部分的英國出版寫作規(guī)范則反對使用serial comma或者認為它可有可無。對于個人日常寫作來說，那就更多地取決于習慣了，無關(guān)對錯。

凡事總有例外

然而，有的時候，如果不加這個逗號，可能會出現(xiàn)歧義。比如：

The interviewees(被采訪者) were his two ex-wives(前妻), Mary and Anna.

請聽題：被采訪者一共有幾個人？

這個問題在于，Mary and Anna到底是他的ex-wives（同位語），還是與“ex-wives”并列的另外兩個被采訪者？

這時候加上serial comma就可以避免被理解Mary and Anna為同位語了：

The interviewees were his two ex-wives, Mary, and Anna.

（被采訪者是他的兩個前妻、瑪麗和安娜）（一共四人）。

當然也有其他的處理方法，比如調(diào)換語序：

The interviewees were Mary, Anna and his two ex-wives.

當然，如果確實只采訪了他的兩個前妻的話，那就應(yīng)該改成：

The interviewees were Mary and Anna, his two ex-wives. （注意只有兩者并列時，and/or前不能加逗號）

美國緬因州曾經(jīng)還有過一個案子，因為法律條文里缺少serial comma導(dǎo)致歧義。（這個例子比較難，英語一般的朋友可以跳過）

法律原文說對特定貨物的以下活動中，貨運公司不需要支付加班費：

canning, ... , storing, packing for shipment or distribution(經(jīng)銷/送貨給零售商)。

請問：貨車司機進行distribution能不能拿到加班費？

貨車司機：當然能啊，原文說的免加班費活動是：packing for [shipment or distribution]，只有打包（packing）是沒加班費的。而且distribution用的是名詞，前面列的canning、storing、packing都是動名詞，明顯不是和它們并列的。

公司：當然不用付啊，原文說的是：[packing for shipment] or [distribution]，運送給零售商（distribution）也沒加班費。shipment和distribution不是一回事嗎，怎么可能寫兩遍。

最后法院根據(jù)當?shù)匾?guī)定，如果有歧義，那么按保護弱勢群體一方理解，所以認定公司需要支付加班費。不過后來這一條法律被修改成了“canning; ... storing; packing for shipment; or distributing”。

有人可能想說，既然serial comma能避免歧義，那我每次都加上不就好了？別高興太早！看下面這個例子：

She went to China with her mother, Mary, and John.

請問：她跟幾個人一起去了中國？

是和她名為Mary的母親（同位語）以及John兩個人，還是她母親、Mary和John三個人？

這個時候去掉serial comma反而能避免歧義：

She went to China with her mother, Mary and John.

（她同她的母親、瑪麗和約翰一起去了中國。）（一共三人）

或者調(diào)換順序：

She went to China with Mary, John and her mother.

如果確實是和母親與John兩個人一起去的話，那就是：

She went to China with John and Mary, her mother.

更尷尬的情況是，有的時候，不管加不加serial comma，都會產(chǎn)生歧義，比如：

They went to China with Betty, a maid and a cook.

They went to China with Betty, a maid, and a cook.

老問題：到底是和幾個人一起去的？換句話說，Betty是單獨的一個人，還是他們的女仆，還是他們的女仆兼廚師？

這種情況下只能想別的辦法了，比如：

一個人（Betty是女仆兼廚師）：

??? They went to China with Betty, who was a maid and a cook.

??? They went to China with Betty, both a maid and a cook.

??? They went to China with Betty (a maid and cook).

??? They went to China with Betty, their maid and cook.

兩個人（Betty是女仆，還有一個廚師）：

???They went to China with Betty (a maid) and a cook.

???They went to China with Betty – a maid – and a cook.

???They went to China with Betty, a maid, and with a cook.

???They went to China with the maid Betty and a cook.

???They went to China with a cook and Betty, a maid.

三個人（Betty是女仆兼廚師）：

??? They went to China with Betty, as well as a maid and a cook.

??? They went to China with Betty and a maid and a cook.

??? They went to China with Betty, one maid and a cook.

??? They went to China with a maid, a cook, and Betty.

??? They went with Betty to China with a maid and a cook.

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如果對你有所幫助，請你點個贊，謝謝(づ￣ 3￣)づ

參考資料：

Serial comma. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2020 from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Serial_comma