Identify the correct use of a comma in a series.

• A. Use commas to separate three or more items in a list, such as apples, oranges, and bananas.
• B. Do not use commas in lists.
• C. Use semicolons between items in a list.
• D. Use commas to separate only two items.

Answer: (A)

Separating items in a list of three or more with commas. When you list three or more things, you put a comma between each item to show they’re separate ideas. In apples, oranges, and bananas, you can see a comma after apples and after oranges, with the word and before the last item. that final comma before and is the Oxford comma, which helps avoid confusion in the list. The other choices don’t fit: lists with only two items usually don’t require a comma, semicolons aren’t needed for simple lists, and saying not to use commas in lists ignores the standard way we separate items in a series.