Which sentence uses commas correctly in a list?

Which sentence uses commas correctly in a list?

• A. I bought apples bananas cherries.
• B. I bought apples, bananas, and cherries.
• C. I bought apples, bananas and cherries.
• D. I bought apples bananas, and cherries.

Answer: (B)

When you list three or more items, each item should be clearly separated by a comma, and many style guides also use a comma before the conjunction (and) that introduces the last item. This final comma, called the serial comma, helps prevent ambiguity and makes the list easy to read.

In the sentence with three items, you see a comma after the first item and another comma before the conjunction before the last item. That structure clearly marks apples, bananas, and cherries as three distinct items, so the meaning is unambiguous.

The other options miss one of these cues: some omit necessary commas between items, which tethers the words together and makes the list harder to parse; others place a comma in a spot that doesn’t reflect the intended separation, creating a awkward or misleading rhythm.