Select the option which gives the meaning required and is correctly punctuated
meaning required:
louise had two boyfriends
1)
o
louise was going out with john paul charles and henry james
2) o
louise was going out with john paul, charles and henry james
3)
o
louise was going out with john, paul, charles and henry james
4)
o
louise was going out with john, paul, charles, and henry, james

1

Explanation:
Louise had TWO boyfriends. When listing things with commas, commas are only used with three or more things to list. For example apples, oranges, and pears. Note that the items all have a comma after them until the last item which is where the list ends. Commas separate the items. In 2, the sentence indicates that Louise is going out with 3 boys. The question only says she is only dating 2, however. In 3, Louise is dating 4 boys (XD). The commas are not used correctly either as there should be a comma after Charles. This choice doesn’t indicate 2 boyfriends, but twice that. In 4, not only is the gramatical structure incorrect from the items being ordered incorrectly, Louise is dating 5 boys. All of these choices have too many boyfriends except 1. So, 1 is the answer. In conclusion, when listing 2 items only, simply use an “and” to connect them.