Question

Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?

1) The growing season in central Mexico is quite long because the temperature does not fluctuate much between spring, summer, fall, and winter.
2) The growing season in central Mexico is quite long, because the temperature does not fluctuate much between spring, summer, fall, and winter.
3) The growing season in central Mexico is quite long, because the temperature does not fluctuate much between spring, summer, fall and winter.
4) The growing season in central Mexico, is quite long because the temperature does not fluctuate much between spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Answer 1

The correctly punctuated sentence is the first option, which does not use unnecessary commas and correctly employs the Oxford comma in a series list.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence which is punctuated correctly among the given options is:

1. The growing season in central Mexico is quite long because the temperature does not fluctuate much between spring, summer, fall, and winter.

This sentence correctly uses punctuation without an unnecessary comma after 'long'. When because introduces a clause that follows and directly relates to an independent clause, a comma is not needed if the result is a direct consequence of what's stated in the independent clause. Additionally, including the comma before 'and' in the series (spring, summer, fall, and winter) is known as the serial or Oxford comma and is a stylistic choice that is widely accepted, particularly in American English.