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Question

Difficulty: EasyCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

For the science experiment, the students need to bring a plastic bottle, a roll of duct tape, and a pair of scissors to class tomorrow.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    a plastic bottle, a roll of duct tape, and, a pair of scissors
  3. C
    a plastic bottle a roll of duct tape, and a pair of scissors
  4. D
    a plastic bottle, a roll of duct tape; and a pair of scissors

Answer

The option stating 'NO CHANGE' is the correct choice because the list of three items is correctly separated by commas, including the serial comma before the conjunction 'and'.
The correct answer is the option stating 'NO CHANGE' because it properly separates all three elements of the list with commas, including the comma before the coordinating conjunction 'and' (the serial or Oxford comma).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the structure of the underlined portion of the sentence.
The underlined text contains a simple list of three items: 'a plastic bottle', 'a roll of duct tape', and 'a pair of scissors'.
Determining the grammatical structure helps identify the correct punctuation rules to apply.
2
Apply standard rules for punctuating a series of three or more items.
Commas must separate each item, and a serial comma should appear before the coordinating conjunction 'and'. This yields: 'a plastic bottle, a roll of duct tape, and a pair of scissors'.
Using commas correctly avoids confusing the reader and maintains parallel structure in a list.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that matches this correct punctuation.
The original sentence is already punctuated correctly, which corresponds to the choice stating 'NO CHANGE'.
Comparing the choices ensures the selected option is grammatically accurate.

Key Concept

Punctuation of items in a simple three-item list using commas and a coordinating conjunction.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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