CONCATENATE and JOIN in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

Two columns of words: Column A has fruits, Column B has animals.

Cell	Value
A1	Apple
A2	Banana
A3	Cherry
B1	Dog
B2	Elephant
B3	Frog

Formula Trace

=CONCATENATE(A1, "-", B1, ", ", A2, "-", B2, ", ", A3, "-", B3)

Step 1: A1

Step 2: "-"

Step 3: B1

Step 4: Apple - Dog

Step 5: ", "

Step 6: A2

Step 7: "-"

Step 8: B2

Step 9: Banana - Elephant

Step 10: Apple-Dog, Banana-Elephant

Step 11: ", "

Step 12: A3

Step 13: "-"

Step 14: B3

Step 15: Cherry - Frog

Step 16: Apple-Dog, Banana-Elephant, Cherry-Frog

Cell Reference Map

Apple

→Dog

↓

Banana

→Elephant

↓

Cherry

→Frog

References from columns A and B for rows 1 to 3 are used to build pairs.

Result

A1: Apple
B1: Dog

Result Cell:
Apple-Dog, Banana-Elephant, Cherry-Frog

The formula combines fruit and animal pairs with dash and separates pairs by commas.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the dash '-' do in the CONCATENATE formula?

A Separates the fruit and animal names in each pair

B Separates each pair from the next

C Adds a space between words

D Repeats the word before it

Key Result

CONCATENATE joins multiple text pieces exactly in the order given, no automatic separators.