Commas and lists worksheets | Worsheets library - Free Printable

Let’s go through each sentence one by one and add commas where needed. Remember the rule: when you have three or more items in a list, put a comma after each item — except before “and” or “or” (unless your teacher says to use the Oxford comma — but this worksheet doesn’t ask for that).

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1. I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance.
→ Add comma after “party” and after “game”? Wait — actually, we need commas between all items until the last one. So:
I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game, or the dance.

But wait — some styles skip the comma before “or”. Let’s check the example box: it says “use a comma after each item until the word and or or.” That means NO comma before “and” or “or”. So correct version is:
I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance. → Actually, no — let me re-read the rule.

The box says: “When there are three or more items in a list, use a comma after each item until the word and or or.”

That means:
Item 1, Item 2, and Item 3 → but they say “until the word and or or”, so maybe they mean don’t put a comma BEFORE “and” or “or”.

Actually, looking at standard grammar for Grade 4, most worksheets teach:
Use commas between items in a list of 3 or more, including before “and” or “or” — called the Oxford comma. But the instruction here says: “use a comma after each item until the word and or or” — which suggests NOT putting a comma before “and” or “or”.

Wait — let’s look at sentence #7: “This weekend I wore two shirts three skirts and four pairs of shoes.” — clearly needs commas between them.

Let’s follow the rule as written: “use a comma after each item until the word and or or” — meaning, put commas after every item EXCEPT the one right before “and” or “or”.

So for sentence 1:
Items: party, game, dance → connected by “or” at the end.
So: party, game or dance → but that’s only two commas? No — we need to separate all three.

Actually, I think the rule is meant to say: put a comma after each item in the list, except you don’t put a comma after the last item (which comes before “and” or “or”). But that’s not what it says.

Let me read again: “use a comma after each item until the word and or or”

Hmm — perhaps it’s poorly worded. In reality, for Grade 4, the standard is:

> Use commas to separate three or more items in a series. Put a comma after each item, including before “and” or “or”.

But since the worksheet gives its own rule, let’s stick to it literally.

It says: “use a comma after each item until the word and or or”

So for: A, B, and C → you put comma after A, comma after B, then “and C” — so comma before “and” is included? Or not?

Actually, “until the word and or or” might mean stop putting commas once you reach the word “and” or “or” — so no comma before them.

Example: apples, bananas and oranges → no comma before “and”

But many teachers accept both. Since this is a worksheet, let’s look at how other sentences should be fixed.

Let’s do sentence 2:
“The mouse the rat and the gerbil all looked very similar to me.”
→ Should be: The mouse, the rat and the gerbil... OR The mouse, the rat, and the gerbil...

Again, same issue.

To avoid confusion, let’s assume the worksheet wants the traditional style WITHOUT the Oxford comma — because the rule says “until the word and or or”, implying you don’t put a comma right before those words.

So for any list of 3+ items, put commas between them, but NOT before the final “and” or “or”.

Let’s apply that consistently.

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Now let’s fix each sentence:

1. I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance.
→ Already has comma after “party”, and “game or dance” — that’s correct per rule (no comma before “or”)
✔ Correct as is? Wait — original says: “the party, the game or the dance” — yes, that matches the rule.

But let’s double-check — is “party, game, dance” three items? Yes. Comma after first item, then “game or dance” — so only one comma needed? No — we need to separate all three items.

Actually, in standard English, it should be:
“I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game, or the dance.” — with comma before “or”

But the worksheet’s rule says: “use a comma after each item until the word and or or” — which probably means: put comma after each item except the one immediately before “and” or “or”.

So for three items: Item1, Item2 and Item3 → comma after Item1, no comma after Item2 (because next is “and”)

Similarly: Item1, Item2 or Item3

So for sentence 1:
Original: “the party, the game or the dance” → that’s correct per their rule.

But let’s see sentence 3:
“My mom made me clean my room do the dishes and walk the dog.”
→ Three items: clean room, do dishes, walk dog → should be:
clean my room, do the dishes and walk the dog. → comma after “room”, no comma before “and”

Yes.

Sentence 4: “Jeff Ryan and Brad” — that’s three names? Jeff, Ryan, and Brad — but written as “Jeff Ryan and Brad” — that’s ambiguous. Probably means three people: Jeff, Ryan, and Brad. So should be: Jeff, Ryan and Brad — or Jeff, Ryan, and Brad?

Per rule: comma after each item until “and” — so: Jeff, Ryan and Brad → comma after Jeff, no comma before “and”

But “Jeff Ryan” could be misread as one person. To clarify, it should be: Jeff, Ryan, and Brad — but again, per worksheet rule, maybe no comma before “and”.

I think for consistency, we’ll follow: insert commas between items, but not before the final “and” or “or”.

Let’s proceed.

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Final corrections:

1. I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance.
→ Already correct? Original has comma after “party”, then “game or dance” — yes, that’s fine per rule.

But let’s write it properly:
Actually, original sentence 1 is: “I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance.” — that’s already using one comma. Is that enough? For three items, we need two separators. Between party and game, and between game and dance. But “game or dance” is treated as one unit? No.

Standard way: three items require two commas if using Oxford comma, or one comma if not.

With Oxford comma: party, game, or dance → two commas
Without: party, game or dance → one comma

Since the rule says “use a comma after each item until the word and or or”, it implies: for items A, B, and C — put comma after A, comma after B, then “and C” — so comma before “and” is included? Or not?

I think there’s ambiguity, but looking at common Grade 4 materials, they often teach to include the comma before “and” or “or” for clarity.

Moreover, in sentence 7: “two shirts three skirts and four pairs of shoes” — clearly needs commas: two shirts, three skirts and four pairs — or two shirts, three skirts, and four pairs?

Let’s look at the answer key pattern.

Perhaps I should just apply the rule as: whenever you have a list of 3 or more things, put a comma after each thing except the last one, and don’t put a comma before “and” or “or”.

So for three items: A, B and C

For four items: A, B, C and D

etc.

Let’s do that.

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Revised plan: Insert commas between items in lists of 3+, but do NOT put a comma before the final “and” or “or”.

So:

1. I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance.
→ Already has comma after “party”, and “game or dance” — good. ✔

2. The mouse the rat and the gerbil all looked very similar to me.
→ Needs comma after “mouse”: The mouse, the rat and the gerbil... ✔

3. My mom made me clean my room do the dishes and walk the dog.
→ Clean my room, do the dishes and walk the dog. ✔

4. I asked Jeff Ryan and Brad to come over after school.
→ This is tricky. If it’s three people: Jeff, Ryan and Brad → so: I asked Jeff, Ryan and Brad...
But “Jeff Ryan” might be intended as one name? Unlikely. Probably three separate people. So: Jeff, Ryan and Brad ✔

5. Don't forget to call your dad do your homework and fold your clothes.
→ Call your dad, do your homework and fold your clothes. ✔

6. Sophia Martha and Roberta all earned a great score on the test.
→ Sophia, Martha and Roberta ✔

7. This weekend I wore two shirts three skirts and four pairs of shoes.
→ two shirts, three skirts and four pairs of shoes. ✔

8. On vacation I will visit New York Chicago and Indianapolis.
→ New York, Chicago and Indianapolis. ✔

9. After school, the teachers principals and cafeteria workers will have a meeting.
→ teachers, principals and cafeteria workers. ✔

10. The new club will meet on Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays.
→ Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. ✔

11. Do you want to eat a salad a hamburger and some fries?
→ a salad, a hamburger and some fries. ✔

12. We have to return to the library drive to the store and stop at the post office.
→ return to the library, drive to the store and stop at the post office. ✔

Wait — in sentence 12, “return to the library, drive to the store and stop at the post office” — that’s three actions, so comma after first action.

All seem to follow the pattern: comma after first item, no comma before “and” or “or”.

But let’s verify sentence 1 again: “the party, the game or the dance” — that’s correct.

However, in some cases like sentence 4, “Jeff Ryan and Brad” — if we write “Jeff, Ryan and Brad”, it’s clear.

Similarly, sentence 6: “Sophia, Martha and Roberta”

Now, is there any sentence that needs more than one comma? For example, if there were four items.

Looking at the sentences, none have four items — all have exactly three items in the list.

So for each, we add one comma: after the first item.

Except sentence 1 already has it.

Let’s list the corrected versions:

1. I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance. → unchanged

2. The mouse, the rat and the gerbil all looked very similar to me.

3. My mom made me clean my room, do the dishes and walk the dog.

4. I asked Jeff, Ryan and Brad to come over after school.

5. Don't forget to call your dad, do your homework and fold your clothes.

6. Sophia, Martha and Roberta all earned a great score on the test.

7. This weekend I wore two shirts, three skirts and four pairs of shoes.

8. On vacation I will visit New York, Chicago and Indianapolis.

9. After school, the teachers, principals and cafeteria workers will have a meeting.

10. The new club will meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

11. Do you want to eat a salad, a hamburger and some fries?

12. We have to return to the library, drive to the store and stop at the post office.

In sentence 9, “teachers principals and cafeteria workers” — adding comma after “teachers”: teachers, principals and cafeteria workers.

Similarly, all others.

Now, about sentence 4: “Jeff Ryan and Brad” — if we add comma after Jeff, it becomes “Jeff, Ryan and Brad” — which is clear.

Same for others.

I think this is consistent with the worksheet’s rule.

So final answers are as above.

But let’s make sure about sentence 1 — it was already correct, so no change.

In the original, sentence 1 has a comma, so we leave it.

For the rest, we add one comma each in the appropriate place.

Now, to present the final answer, I’ll list each sentence with the comma added.

Since the task is to “add commas where needed”, I’ll provide the corrected sentences.

Final Answer:

1. I can't decide if I want to go to the party, the game or the dance.
2. The mouse, the rat and the gerbil all looked very similar to me.
3. My mom made me clean my room, do the dishes and walk the dog.
4. I asked Jeff, Ryan and Brad to come over after school.
5. Don't forget to call your dad, do your homework and fold your clothes.
6. Sophia, Martha and Roberta all earned a great score on the test.
7. This weekend I wore two shirts, three skirts and four pairs of shoes.
8. On vacation I will visit New York, Chicago and Indianapolis.
9. After school, the teachers, principals and cafeteria workers will have a meeting.
10. The new club will meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
11. Do you want to eat a salad, a hamburger and some fries?
12. We have to return to the library, drive to the store and stop at the post office.