These are the four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, plasma.
These are the four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
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1Why do you think it might be incorrect? – curiousdannii Nov 13 '14 at 00:58
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Hi, Welcome to ELU. Could you give us some information about why you thin it might be wrong? It will help us give you a good answer! :) – Araucaria - Him Nov 13 '14 at 22:58
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It feels very monotonous sometimes to always use an "and" after commas, and I was just wondering if it would be incorrect if one did not follow that method all the time. Thanks to all those who have contributed to my question, I found it most informative! – Lucky Bojangles Nov 14 '14 at 13:57
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1This should have been closed as a duplicate. Possible duplicates: Comma in a series of words?, Comma use dividing two lists in one sentence, and Should I put a comma before the last item in a list? – Mari-Lou A Nov 17 '14 at 20:37
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Thank you for all the comments. I have reviewed those possible duplicates and have found that my answers are completely different to the ones linked to me. That would indicate that the question was interpreted differently, and as a result, had both new and perfectly valid answers. – Lucky Bojangles Nov 30 '14 at 18:59
4 Answers
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Not only is it not incorrect, it even has a name: asyndeton (Gk: "not bound together").
asyndeton noun (plural asyndeta /-tə/)
[mass noun]
The omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence, as in I came, I saw, I conquered
Andrew Leach
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It is not incorrect. But it implies that the list is incomplete, that an item has been left out. Obviously, if you say there are four elements and then list four, this wouldn't apply. But it can be kind of jarring to the reader, used to the typical and.
...One may occasionally omit and before the final element in an enumeration with a particular nuance in mind: without and, the implication is that the series is incomplete...; with and the implication is that the series is complete. This shade in meaning is increasingly subtle in modern prose.
--The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, onine version, 2002
pazzo
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"Incorrect", maybe not. But more than 99.9% of the time, there will be an "and" in that position, unless it was left out for some "rhetorical" effect.
TimR
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The only situation I can imagine in which this seems like it might be natural would be a non-exhaustive list of examples given for rhetorical effect:
They stole from their targets indiscriminately: money, jewels, priceless paintings.
It is definitely nonstandard even in such a situation, though.
glasnost
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