How do I properly nest paste() functions in R?

Question

Can you tell me why

paste(paste(c(\"first\", \"second\"), collapse=\", \"), \"third\", collapse=\" and \")

gives me

\"first,          


        

Answer 1

Let's break it down:

1st part:

> paste(c("first", "second"), collapse=", ")
#[1] "first, second"

2nd part:

> paste("first, second", "third", collapse=" and ")
#[1] "first, second third"

using sep= instead of collapse=

> paste("first, second","third",sep=" and ")
#[1] "first, second and third"

Therefore you can use:

> paste(paste(c("first", "second"), collapse=", "), "third",sep=", and ")
#[1] "first, second, and third"