Colons and semicolons- We have already looked at the use of the semicolon. Here are the rules for the colon ( : ). [1]
Colons usually come at the end of an independent sentence and introduce…
1. ...lists
2. ...descriptive phrases or words (but ones that are not complete sentences)
3. ...direct quotations of what people have said or written
Remember, do not capitalize the first word after a colon. Do that only if it is a proper noun (the name of a person, place or thing – e.g. a company), or the first word of another sentence as you might find in use number 3.
Examples:
à before a list
-Please bring the following to the final exam: your powerpoint presentation, a printed copy, and a CD version of it.
àbefore a descriptive word or phrase
-Dorian Grey had one great love in his life: himself.
-Doctors should all have two important abilities: the ability to listen, and to analyze.
àbefore a direct quotation
-Mark Twain, the great American writer, once said: “To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”
-The best advice I ever got in life was from my high school English teacher who said: “Remember to stop and smell the roses along the way.”
Practice: Check the sentences for the correct use, or not, of colons.
1 Girls in my country look forward to an important event in their lives: their 16th birthday.
2 Two causes of prejudice are the following: ignorance and fear.
3 When you go hiking in the woods, you should always take these items with you: a knife, a flashlight, a first aid kit, extra water and food, a change of clothes, a map, a compass, matches or a lighter, and a whislte.
4 My mother’s parents grew up in the 1930s and had kids in the 1940s. They didn’t approve of these activities: smoking, drinking, dancing, watching TV, or driving around with friends on Sundays.
[1] Explanation of the rules inspired by The Essentials of English A Writer’s Handbook, pp. 210-212. Author: Ann Hogue. Published by Longman, White Plains, N.Y. in 2003.
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