Which sentence correctly uses a comma to separate items in a list?

• A. For lunch she bought apples, bananas, oranges.
• B. For lunch she bought apples and bananas, oranges.
• C. For lunch she bought apples bananas oranges.
• D. For lunch she bought apples, bananas oranges.

Answer: (A)

Using commas to separate items in a list is the main idea. When you name more than two things in a sentence, you put a comma after each item to show they’re distinct. In this sentence, apples, bananas, oranges are three separate items, so placing a comma after apples and after bananas correctly marks the boundaries between items and makes the list clear.

The other phrasings mix the items in ways that break the simple listing pattern or skip a needed separator: one loses the clear separation between the last two items, another sandwiches “and” in a way that doesn’t present a straightforward list, and another omits the commas entirely, making the items run together.