Commas in lists
Use commas to separate items in a list within a sentence (e.g., 'I bought apples, bananas, and oranges')
What a learner can do afterwards
- Write a sentence containing a list of 3+ items separated by commas: 'I bought apples, bananas, and oranges'
- Identify where commas should go in an unpunctuated list sentence
- Explain that commas separate items in a list so the reader knows each item
The lesson
When you write a list of three or more things in one sentence, each item needs its own comma. The comma tells the reader: that item is done, here comes the next one.
Mia is packing for a picnic. She writes: 'I packed a blanket, a sandwich, and a juice box.' A comma sits after 'blanket' and after 'sandwich,' but not after 'juice box' because that is the last item.
Read your list slowly. Every time you finish naming one thing and are about to name another, put a comma there. Stop before the very last item. It gets no comma after it.
In a list, put a comma after every item except the last one.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.