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etc.

Hello, I would like to ask about how I should finish an enumeration in English. I know that I can't use three points, like in Spanish, for instance: "I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca,..." Could you help me whit this question, what is the adequate way to finish an enumeration? I may finish it with "etc."? For example: "I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, etc." Are there others posibilities?

Thanks for read this post.

Juan
You can use ellipsis points in English (but without the comma): "I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca..." You can also use "etc." or "and so on."
Hi Chris, must I to use comma before etc. but not before and so on? "I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, etc." ; "I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca and so on"
Generally, yes, you would use a comma before "etc." or "and so on" at the end of a list. There may be some style manuals that omit them but I believe the comma is usually recommended.
Oh! In Spanish we don't use comma before and but I can use it before the English expression and so on: "I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, and so on" Really is interesting to learn English 👁 Smile :)


Thanks so much Chris.

Juan
Some style manuals still omit the "serial comma" before "and":

"I saw Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca and Bilbao."

I'm not sure if they would also omit it before "etc.," but its possible they might.
Kris, in a previous post wrote
Some style manuals still omit the "serial comma"
Are serial and enumeration synomynous words? May I say "enumeration words" or "serial words "?
Juan
Last edited:
Kris, in a previous post wrote
Are serial and enumeration synomynous words? May I say "enumeration words" or "serial words "?
Juan

"Serial" is an adjective describing things that are in a series, as in "serial killer." "Enumeration" is a noun describing the act of making a list, often but not necessarily numbered: "The enumeration of the problems with this program would be endless."
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