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I was wondering about when to put comma only or comma with connectors to separate items inside brackets (,) (, and ).

This is an example:

Health status (physical, mental, biological, psychological)

or

Health status (physical, mental, biological and psychological)

KillingTime
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M Bourmad
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  • I don't think it matters. The normal rules about grammar in sentences don't apply to the bit in brackets. – Stuart F Dec 03 '21 at 10:59
  • While grammar doesn't disappear out of the window for parentheticals, there can be a relaxation. But your examples are insufficient. In running text, I'd use the normal listing format << Health status (physical, mental, biological, and psychological) is regularly monitored. >> (Note that the Oxford comma forces 4 list members here.) If your NP example is a chapter heading, the terser format becomes more (if not perhaps the more) attractive. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 03 '21 at 11:43
  • I don't use Oxford comma in this essay. Do I have to make an exception and use it in the brackets? – M Bourmad Dec 04 '21 at 11:39
  • ... The best answer (by Adam Katz, quoting Joe Kessler) to the question asked here about whether the Oxford comma should be used was essentially 'To disambiguate, sometimes the Oxford comma is necessary, sometimes it is deleterious'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 04 '21 at 17:28

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