Colons

Matt Harvey

Tyler Waldie

Use a colon after a complete sentence to introduce a list, an appositive, or a quotation.

•Several majors interest me: biology, chemistry, and art.

a list

She shared with me her favorite toys: a spatula and a pot lid.

an appositive

He said the dreaded words: “Lets just be friends.”

a quotation

When you use a colon to introduce a sentence element, make sure that it is preceded by an independent clause.

EXAMPLEThree kinds of futility (are) dealt with in the novel: pervasive

poverty, lost love, and inescapable aging.

Use a colon when a second closely related independent clause elaborates on the first one.

EXAMPLE

I can predict tonight’s events sequence of events: my brother will arrive late, talk loudly, and eat too much.

Use colons in salutations in business documents, to indicate ratios, to indicate times of day, for city and publisher citations in bibliographies, and to separate titles and subtitles.

ExamplesDear Mr. Worth:The ratio of armed to unarmed members of the gang

was 3:1.He woke up at 6:30 in the morning.New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007Possible Lives: The Promise of Public Education in

America

Some Common Mistakes• Using a colon between a verb and its object or

complements.• Using a colon between a preposition and its

object or objects.• Using a colon after such as, for example, or

including.• Using more than one colon in a sentence.

For example• The elements of a smoothie are: yogurt, fresh fruit, and

honey.• Many feel that cancer can be prevented by a diet of: fruit,

nuts, and vegetables.• I am ready for a change, such as: a trip to the Bahamas or a

move to another town.• He was taken in by a new con: the Spanish lottery scam:

victims are told they have won a big prize and asked to send financial information to a fake Spanish company.

• True or False – Colons can be used more than once in a sentence.

• True or False – Colons should not be used to express ratios.

• Which word does the colon belong after in this sentence?

Several majors interest me biology chemistry and art

• Express the time six thirty in the morning with a colon.

• Multiple Choice – Which of the following can colons be used for?

a. Lists b. Appositives c. Quotations d. All three