Commas in lists

When you write a list of three or more things in a sentence, put commas between the items. Before the last item, write ⟦and⟧ (or ⟦or⟧) instead of a comma: ⟦I bought apples, pears and plums.⟧

Key facts

  • Put a comma after each item except the last two: ⟦red, blue, green and yellow⟧.
  • Before the last item, ⟦and⟧ or ⟦or⟧ takes the place of a comma: ⟦Do you want tea, juice or water?⟧
  • Don't put a comma before the first item or after ⟦and⟧.
  • A comma before ⟦and⟧ is called the Oxford comma: ⟦apples, pears, and plums⟧. It is usual in American English and is also correct; British school English usually leaves it out.
  • An item can be more than one word: ⟦a pen, a ruler and a book⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Add commas: ⟦We need eggs flour and sugar.⟧

  1. The items are ⟦eggs⟧, ⟦flour⟧ and ⟦sugar⟧.
  2. Put a comma between the first two; ⟦and⟧ joins the last one: ⟦We need eggs, flour and sugar.⟧

Answer: ⟦We need eggs, flour and sugar.⟧

Example 2

Add commas: ⟦At the zoo we saw lions zebras monkeys and penguins.⟧

  1. Four items: ⟦lions⟧, ⟦zebras⟧, ⟦monkeys⟧, ⟦penguins⟧.
  2. Commas after ⟦lions⟧ and ⟦zebras⟧, then ⟦and⟧ before ⟦penguins⟧.

Answer: ⟦At the zoo we saw lions, zebras, monkeys and penguins.⟧

Example 3

Correct the commas: ⟦I like, football, tennis and, chess.⟧

  1. Take out the comma after ⟦like⟧: the list hasn't started yet.
  2. Take out the comma after ⟦and⟧.
  3. ⟦I like football, tennis and chess.⟧

Answer: ⟦I like football, tennis and chess.⟧