Question

Which of the following sentences uses commas correctly? Question 3 options:

A On her way to the beach, Lisa was loaded with her beach umbrella, volleyball and picnic basket.

B On her way to the beach Lisa was loaded with her beach umbrella, volleyball, and picnic basket.

C On her way to the beach, Lisa was loaded with her beach umbrella, volleyball, and picnic basket.

D On her way to the beach, Lisa was loaded with her beach umbrella volleyball and picnic basket.

Answer 1

C On her way to the beach, Lisa was loaded with her beach umbrella, volleyball, and picnic basket.

The first comma is necessary because it comes after the introductory prepositional phrases. "One her way" and "to the beach" are both prepositional phrases that begin the sentence.
The next commas are needed to separate the items in a list. Comma usage for lists have changed. It is acceptable to leave out the comma before the conjunction (and). However, in this sentence, leaving out the comma may lead someone to believe that the basket is both a volleyball basket and picnic basket. The comma should separate volleyball and and so that it is clear that the volleyball is a separate item.