What does a comma mean in a contract?

Commas in contracts link separate clauses in a non-definitive way, leaving their reading open to interpretation. While a full stop is literally that – a full and complete stop to one thought or sentence, and the signal of the start of another – commas occupy a linguistic middle ground, and one that's often muddled.

What does a comma mean in legal terms?

According to Cuny School of Law, commas must separate independent clauses whenever they are joined together by coordinating conjunctions, such as and, for, but, or, yet and nor. You should also use commas to separate three or more phrases, clauses or words within a sentence (eg:phrases, clauses or words).

How are commas used in legal writing?

"In legal writing, place a comma at the end of each item listed, including the item listed immediately before the and." Mary Barnard Ray & Jill J. Ramsfield, Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written 86 (4th ed., West Group 2005).

What does a semicolon mean in a contract?

Generally, semicolons are used to connect two or more related, but independent, clauses in the same sentence. For example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; pickled peppers that just so happened to be in Queen Grimhilde's pantry.

What do you mean by punctuation in legislative drafting?

PUNCTUATION. Punctuation is used by the drafter to assist the reader of the law to. understand the text easily. There are general rules about punctuation as follows: PUNCTUATION RULES.

Comma story - Terisa Folaron

Why are there no commas in legal documents?

Punctuation was traditionally omitted in legal documents and this practise is continued by many Will and Trust drafters. Drafters prefer instead to use underlining or spacing to avoid the ordinary use of commas. The traditional exclusion rests on a precedent both ancient and authoritative.

How does a comma cost a million?

Rather than a missing comma, an unwanted comma in US Tariff Act of 1872 cost the US Government two million dollars (around $38.4 million in today's money). The issue arose because of a clause that exempted “fruit plants” from import tariffs. Or that was the intention, at least.

Is there a comma after plaintiff?

3) Use a comma to indicate that more information follows. The plaintiff filed his reply brief, which was longer than court rules permitted. The court held for the plaintiff, finding that the defendant's explanation was not credible. 4) Use a comma before a conjunction that introduces a new subject and verb.

Is there a comma after attorney?

If you are introducing a quote with a phrase such as “He said,” “The record states,” or “As Justice Scalia wrote,” you must use a comma before the quotation marks: The defense attorney shouted, “I object to that question!”

Do you put a comma after the date in legal writing?

2. Use a comma after the year {the order signed on February 16, 2013, was sent to the client} unless the date is used adjectivally {the February 16, 2013 order was sent to the client}.

Do legal documents use the Oxford comma?

Lawyers should use the Oxford comma to help avoid ambiguity. Three ambiguities may arise without this comma: Whether the two final items in a list are one combined element or separate.

Why Commas make a difference?

The absence or presence of a comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence. For example, there's a cannibalistic difference between “Let's eat grandma” and “Let's eat, grandma.” The same holds true for apostrophes, hyphens, colons, and other punctuation marks.

Is the Oxford comma?

The Oxford comma is the comma placed before the conjunction at the end of a list of things. For example, in “the flag was red, white, and blue”, the Oxford comma would be the one appearing before “and”. Proponents of the Oxford comma say it's necessary for removing ambiguity in sentences.

Does a comma splice have to have a comma?

When you join two independent clauses with a comma and no conjunction, it's called a comma splice. Some people consider this a type of run-on sentence, while other people think of it as a punctuation error.

What is a superfluous comma?

Except after an introductory dependent clause, do not use a comma to separate a dependent clause from a main clause unless the dependent clause provides nonessential information.

Who uses Oxford comma?

In a sentence with a list of three or more items, the Oxford comma is the comma you place right before the coordinating conjunction and last item in the list. It is also known as a serial comma, a series comma, or a Harvard comma. The Oxford comma is considered optional by American English language grammarians.

What does a comma look like?

The comma , is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark (') in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline of the text.

What do three commas mean?

It may not be formal English, but that does not make it wrong or an accident. It is online slang, generally used to indicate a more emphasized trail-off, somewhat like a mixture between an ellipsis and comma, like you'd hear after saying "anyhow". – Azsgy.

What are the different types of commas?

There are four types of comma: the listing comma, the joining comma, the gapping comma and bracketing commas.

Does most importantly need a comma?

If it was taken out of the list and moved before, it would become "We need to, most importantly, pack underwear.” (commas optional) or "Most importantly, we need to pack underwear." Because “most importantly” is an adverb, it cannot modify 'underwear' and so there is no comma between them.

Why is the Oxford comma important?

Sometimes, many people argue, the Oxford comma isn't just a stylistic feature, but an essential one, as the meaning of a sentence can be altered without it. It is therefore important for removing potential ambiguity that can spoil the clarity and elegance of your writing.

Why is the Oxford comma controversial?

This practice is controversial and is known as the serial comma or Oxford comma, because it is part of the house style of Oxford University Press." There are cases in which the use of the serial comma can avoid ambiguity and also instances in which its use can introduce ambiguity.

Why is it called an Oxford comma?

The Oxford comma has been attributed to Horace Hart, printer and controller of the Oxford University Press from 1893 to 1915, who wrote Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers in 1905 as a style guide for the employees working at the press. However, at that time, the comma was not called the Oxford comma.

Does January 2021 need a comma?

If you have the month-date-year format, a comma is always required after the year. If you just have a month and a year or a month and a day, using commas after dates depends on context: Correct: Our wedding in April 1993 was beautiful.

How do you write the date in a contract?