Table of Contents
When to use a colon and when not to use it.
A colon indicates a following list, a subtitle, or a block quotation.
The sentence must make sense without the list.
Examples using a colon to introduce a list:
- My brother’s birthday list had only five items: a new bicycle, a new wagon, a new cell phone, a remote-controlled airplane, and a pony.
- “My brother’s birthday list had only five items” is a complete sentence which could end with a period.
- The list, however, needs to be attached to a sentence such as the previous one or it could have its own verb, creating its own sentence.
- A new bicycle, a new wagon, a new cell phone, a remote-controlled airplane, and a pony were all the things he wanted.
- Wikipedia divides United States history into several sections: the colonial period, the 18th century, the American Revolution, the early years of the Republic, the 19th century, the 20th century, and the 21st century.
- “Wikipedia divides United States history into several sections” is a complete sentence which could end with a period.
- The list, however, needs to be attached to a sentence such as the previous one or it could have its own verb, creating its own sentence.
- The colonial period, the 18th century, the American Revolution, the early years of the Republic, the 19th century, the 20th century, and the 21st century all had impacts in creating this country.
- Savannah had four choices of occupations: nurse, librarian, secretary, or teacher.
- “Savannah had four choices of occupations” is a complete sentence which could end with a period.
- The list, however, needs to be attached to a sentence such as the previous one or it could have its own verb, creating its own sentence.
- Being a nurse, librarian, secretary, or teacher would make her feel satisfied and useful.
These are not usually considered complete sentences, but they still use a colon as they are followed by a list.
Examples:
- My brother’s birthday list had the following items: a new bicycle, a new wagon, a new cell phone, a remote-controlled airplane, and a pony.
- Wikipedia divides United States history into the following sections: the colonial period, the 18th century, the American Revolution, the early years of the Republic, the 19th century, the 20th century, and the 21st century.
- Savannah’s choices for her future were as follows: nurse, librarian, secretary, or teacher.
The item may be a single word, a phrase, or even a complete thought, but it must relate and add to the main clause.
Examples:
- Benjamin only wanted one thing for his birthday: a pony.
- Benjamin’s mother accepted his final choice to name the pony: Stub.
- Savannah settled on the one occupation that seemed possible: nursing.
- I had only one thought in mind: I could escape by digging a tunnel.
When the list is the object of the verb or a preposition, it should not be separated from the verb or preposition.
Examples:
- For his birthday, my brother wanted a new bicycle, a new wagon, a new cell phone, a remote-controlled airplane, and a pony.
- (“My brother wanted” is not a finished thought.)
- (The list explains what my brother wanted, a multiple direct object.)
- Wikipedia divides United States history into the colonial period, the 18thcentury, the American Revolution, the early years of the Republic, the 19thcentury, the 20thcentury, and the 21stcentury.
- (“Wikipedia divides United States history into” is not a complete thought.)
- (The list is the object of the preposition “into”), explaining the divisions of United States history.
- Savannah was considering nursing, teaching, being a librarian, or being a secretary.
- (“Savannah was considering” is not a complete thought.)
Not all movies or books have subtitles, but for those that do, use a colon between them.
Examples:
- The only dinosaur movie Kenneth had not seen was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
- Mission Impossible: Fallout was his favorite movie, even though he has watched it six times.
- His sister did not know who were the bad guys in Avengers: Infinity War.
- In school, she read Oliver Twist: The Parish Boy’s Progress, but she did not remember the subtitle for the test.
- Many people have seen the movie, but they have not read the book, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas.
(Not subtitles as in the words across the screen translating into another language.)
If the list in a sentence includes books or movies with subtitles, the list already has colons. Use a dash before the list (if the list does not complete the sentence).
Examples:
- The all-day movie special advertised the following movies—Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park 3, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Jurassic World.
- Only two Harry Potter books were distinguished with subtitles—Harry Potter: the Prequel and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two (not written by J. K. Rowling).
All lines of the quotation (paragraph or paragraphs) should be indented, either from the left or both the left and the right. (Ignore the bold line to the left. I’m still trying to figure out how to indent a block paragraph.)
Example:
Many students have memorized at least the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Note: Our ancestors capitalized every noun, but apparently they missed “defense.”
Portions of seconds are indicated in decimal form with a decimal period.
Examples:
- The three teams left ten minutes apart, starting at 10:06 am.
- Her watch indicated the time of departure at exactly 13:42:18.
- The last runner of the marathon came in at 3:56:25.07.
- The old clock always told the correct time twice a day, always at 3:19.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and tradition use the colon.
Modern Language Association (MLA) recommends a period.
If consecutive verses are listed, use a hyphen between the beginning and ending verses with no space between.
When additional verses (not consecutive) are indicated, separate them with commas.
Examples:
- John 3:16
- Matthew 1:1-17
- Luke 4:16-20
- Isaiah 42:1-9, 65:17-25
Examples:
- The teacher encouraged her students to study specific punctuation marks, namely, commas.
- Trenton made several punctuation errors—for example, not putting a period at the end of each sentence. His essay was hard to read.
- Whenever we went to town, we went to the post office, that is, on weekdays when it was open.
The colon is optional. Most of the “Examples” on the blog are followed by a colon, but not all.
Examples:
- Colon: (with colon)
- Colon (without colon)
- Pythagorean theorem: (with colon)
- Pythagorean theorem (without colon)
Examples:
- 3:2 (three calves to two cows)
- 5:3:1 (five Holsteins to three Guernseys to one Jersey)
- 9:1 (ratio of rodeo bulls bucking off their rider to riders staying the eight seconds)
Credit: Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash