Question

Which sentence below uses punctuation correctly?

O They decided to split four appetizers: nachos, wings, fried pickles, and, cheese fries.
O They decided to split four appetizers: nachos; wings; fried pickles; and cheese fries.
O They decided to split four appetizers, nachos, wings, fried pickles, and cheese fries.
O They decided to split four appetizers: nachos, wings, fried pickles, and cheese fries.

Answer 1

First, we can eliminate choice 3. Choice 3 uses a comma instead of a colon. When listing things, you use a colon.
Next, we can eliminate choice 2. Choice 2 uses semicolons to separate the things in the list. That is using semicolons incorrect since semicolons are used to connect related independent clauses. Commas are the right ones to use.
Next, we have choice 1 and 4 left. We will eliminate choice 1. The mistake here is the comma between “and” and cheese fries. That comma is unnecessary and also incorrect. If the comma is removed, the sentence would be correct, which is exactly what choice 4 is.
So choice 4 is your answer.

Answer 2

Explanation:

The sentence that uses punctuation correctly is:

"They decided to split four appetizers: nachos, wings, fried pickles, and cheese fries."

This sentence uses a colon to introduce a list of items and separates each item with commas. The items in the list do not require any additional punctuation.