i have a question

say you're writing a sentence such as "I ate apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes." is there a comma before 'and' or no?

There is no absolute rule about that comma. Follow your style guide, text book or teacher.

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/412/should-i-put-a-comma-before-the-last-item-in-a-list

oh kk thanks!

Great question! In the sentence "I ate apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes," a comma before the conjunction "and" is used. This is known as the Oxford comma, also called the serial comma. The purpose of the Oxford comma is to clarify the separation between the last two items in a list.

To ensure accuracy when using the Oxford comma, you can follow this simple rule: place a comma after each item in a series, including the second-to-last item, and use "and" or another coordinating conjunction before the last item.

Here's a step-by-step breakdown on how to determine if a comma is needed before "and" in a sentence like the one you provided:

1. Identify the elements in the list: In this case, the list includes "apples," "bananas," "oranges," and "grapes."
2. Evaluate if a comma is needed: Since you are following the rule of using the Oxford comma, you will place a comma after each item in the list.
3. Determine the position of "and": In the sentence you provided, "and" is used as a coordinating conjunction to connect the last two items, "oranges" and "grapes."
4. Apply the Oxford comma: To ensure clarity and consistency, you should include a comma before "and." Therefore, the correct sentence becomes "I ate apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes."

Following these guidelines will help you decide when to use the Oxford comma in sentences with lists.