In 1905, a great punctuation war was sparked when Horace Hart, main editor and printer at the Oxford University Press, published for the first time what would become known as the “Oxford comma.” This punctuation mark, also called a “serial comma,” a “Harvard comma,” or to some, an unnecessary comma, comes after the penultimate (next-to-last) item in a list, followed by the conjunction “and” or “or.”

In the sentence “Her favorite types of tea are peppermint, chamomile, and oolong,” the Oxford comma comes right after “chamomile.” However, omitting that final comma — “Her favorite types of tea are peppermint, chamomile and oolong” — is also correct. Those who omit the comma believe it’s superfluous because it comes before a conjunction separating the last word in the list. Grammatically, neither side of the serial comma debate is wrong. You can use it or skip it; it’s a matter of personal style. Just be consistent throughout the piece. However, you might have to set personal preference aside if you follow a specific set of writing rules. For example, the AP Stylebook discourages using the Oxford comma in simple lists, while the MLA Style Manual, The Chicago Manual of Style, and APA Style champion the Oxford comma. Of course, the Oxford University Press style guide (also called New Hart’s Rules) and Harvard University Press retain the comma, which is where its aliases came from.

In what might be one of the greatest grammar paradoxes in history, the University of Oxford Style Guide, which differs from New Hart’s Rules, discourages using the Oxford comma in most situations. This instruction is straight from its style guide: “Note that there is no comma between the penultimate item in a list and ‘and’/‘or’, unless required to prevent ambiguity.”

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There are certainly instances where an Oxford comma can prevent ambiguity. Consider: “We invited the kids, Mary and William.” This can be interpreted in two ways. It could mean that the kids, whose names are Mary and William, were invited, or it could mean that the kids were invited, along with two other people named Mary and William. If you meant the latter, you might add an Oxford comma: “We invited the kids, Mary, and William.”

The Oxford comma debate remains an enduring tradition between passionate supporters and adversaries. You might even see “Has opinions on the Oxford comma” on the profile of someone who wishes to convey a level of nerd chic on their dating app profile. While we stand on the side of the Oxford comma at Word Smarts, our best advice is to embrace your personal preference unless otherwise directed by a style guide.

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When trying to make sense of historical dialogues, I’m often struck by the elaborate language — superfluous words, archaic vocabulary, and formal tones. While not quite a historical reproduction, the modern hip-hop musical Hamilton gave us some memorable tongue-twisting lines: “If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it.” Here, “will have been” is in the future perfect tense. While the phrasing could be reduced to the simple past tense — “If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it was worth it” — the rhythm of the future perfect tense adds a layer of emphasis and interest that captures more audience attention as Alexander Hamilton meets Eliza.

Let’s decode an even more intricate verb tense: the future perfect continuous in the passive voice. (According to one grammarian, this is the most rarely used verb tense in English.) Transforming Hamilton’s words to this tense results in: “If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been being made worth it.” This construction is not only a mouthful, but it’s nonsensical in this usage. The verb tense is not ignored because it’s complicated to say; it’s just useful only in certain contexts. 

The future perfect continuous passive tense has useful, albeit limited, applications. It depicts an action that will have been ongoing by a specific point in the future. For example: “The magazine will have been being published for three years by next January.” Here, the emphasis is on the duration of the magazine’s publication, highlighting the action itself rather than who or what is performing it.

To construct a sentence in the future perfect continuous tense, you need three auxiliary verbs: “will have been.” To shift into the passive voice, add the verb “being,” followed by a past participle (an “-ed” verb), and a “by” phrase to indicate when the action will conclude. Here’s the general formula for this uncommon tense: subject + “will have been” + “being” + past participle + “by” phrase.

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Putting it all together looks like this: “The skyscraper will have been being constructed for a decade by this time next summer.” Alternatively, you can reposition the “by” phrase to the beginning: “By this time next summer, the skyscraper will have been being constructed for a decade.” On even rarer occasions, a “by” phrase isn’t needed: “Next year celebrates the 10th year that students will have been being trained at this center.”

This rare tense is undoubtedly long-winded and unwieldy, but it is a valid grammatical construct. That said, don’t feel pressured to use it in everyday conversation. Simpler alternatives often suffice, though examining the versatility of language can give us ideas for how to be better communicators. 

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Short answer: The correct phrase is “make do,” but “make due” is a common mistake. We’re a curious bunch, though, so let’s examine why.

This phrase combines the separate verbs “make,” meaning “to form (something) by putting parts together or combining substances; construct; create,” and “do,” meaning “to perform (an action, the precise nature of which is often unspecified).” When combined, “make do” means “to manage to get by,” whether that involves settling for less or improvising a different solution. If you add a hyphen, “make-do” can also be used as an adjective and a noun, as in “a make-do repair” or “the make-dos are working.” When the verb phrase originated in the early 19th century, it was sometimes said as “make it do,” as it appears in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre in 1847: “‘Oh, very well!’ returned Miss Temple; ‘we must make it do, Barbara, I suppose.’” 

The adjective and noun forms came later, with the noun form showing up at the end of the 19th century and the adjective in the 1920s. Rudyard Kipling wrote in “Tales of ‘The Trade’” in 1916: “The full tale of their improvisations and ‘make-do’s’ will probably never come to light.” 

Writing “make due” is not a misspelling, but rather a malapropism, which is a mistake when someone incorrectly uses a similar-sounding word or phrase. What makes this malapropism particularly difficult to understand is that “make due” is not completely incorrect. As an adjective, “due” can mean sufficient, as in “due process” or “due diligence.” And until the 1940s, “make due” was a commonly accepted phrase. 

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However, “make do” won the test of time with the popularity of this saying: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” The quote has been attributed to President Calvin Coolidge, but its origin is uncertain. The sentiment certainly suited life during the Great Depression, when people had to make do. During World War II, the saying became a popular slogan in the U.S. and the U.K. as people were encouraged to ration food, gasoline, and other materials to support the war effort. The attitude also applied to the noun form of “make-do” as the term was extended into a longer phrase around WWII: “make-do-and-mend,” which implied there was a process of ongoing repair. A publication from 1947 includes a quote with the line, “This age of bits and pieces, queues, rationing, and make-do-and-mend.”

What I love about “make do” is that the phrase in itself is improvised. There wasn’t a word that described just what was needed, so it was invented by throwing together two verbs to create the verb we wanted. We do the best with what we have on hand. 

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It’s a common conundrum: Is that store further or farther away? What’s the difference? Or do they mean the same thing?

“Further” and “farther” are two of the most notoriously confused words in English. While they have distinct usages today, they sprouted from the same etymological root hundreds of years ago. As the Oxford English Dictionary entry for “further” explains, both “further” and “farther” come from the Old English word fyrðrian, and the original usage of both words was a comparative form of “far,” meaning “more forward, more onward.” The only difference was in the vowels used to spell the words, and that was simply because spelling was not yet standardized at the time.

However, as English developed, the words deviated slightly in meaning, and now there’s a distinct usage for each. “Farther” holds onto the usage of “more far” in relation to physical distance. For example, “We walked farther today than we did yesterday.” There’s a measurable direct comparison. “Further” relies on the meaning of “more onward” in a metaphorical sense; it’s an extension of time or degree. For example, “I need to look into the issue further before I decide,” or “Let’s move the party further in the month.” There’s still a comparison, but no specific measurement.

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A good trick to decide when to use “further” or “farther” is to ask the question, “How far?” If there’s a simple answer to that question, use “farther.” For example, “How far did you walk yesterday? A mile.” Compare that to “How far did you look into the issue?” There’s not a concrete answer to that question, so “further” is appropriate. You could technically answer the question of “How far should we move the party?” with a specific answer, but there are always exceptions in the English language. Just remember that “further” is used with extensions of time. 

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