Which sentence shows correct parallel structure in a list?

• A. She bought apples, orange, and bananas.
• B. She bought apples oranges and bananas.
• C. She bought apples, oranges, and bananas.
• D. She bought apples, oranges, banana.

Answer: (C)

In a list, each item should be in the same grammatical form so the sentence reads evenly and clearly. This means keeping similar parts of speech and the same number (all plural nouns, all verbs in the same form, etc.), and punctuation should be consistent.

The best sentence keeps every item as a plural noun and uses a comma after each item, including a comma before the conjunction that comes last. This serial (or Oxford) comma helps balance the list and avoids rhythm problems, making the sentence smoothly parallel.

The other options break that balance in simple ways: one mixes singular and plural forms, another drops the comma that keeps the list evenly paced, and a third uses a singular noun with the others, disrupting the uniform structure.