4.3 Colons
Learning Objectives
- Identify the uses of colons.
- Properly use colons in sentences.
The colon (:) is another punctuation mark used to indicate a full stop. Use a colon to introduce lists, quotes, examples, and explanations. You can also use a colon after the greeting in business letters and memos.
Dear Hiring Manager:
To: Human Resources
From: Deanna Dean
Colons to Introduce a List
Use a colon to introduce a list of items. Introduce the list with an independent clause.
The team will tour three states: New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
I have to take four classes this semester: Composition, Statistics, Ethics, and Italian.
Colons to Introduce a Quote
You can use a colon to introduce a quote.
Mark Twain said it best: “When in doubt, tell the truth.”
If a quote is longer than forty words, skip a line after the colon and indent the left margin of the quote five spaces. Because quotations longer than forty words use line spacing and indentation to indicate a quote, quotation marks are not necessary.
My father always loved Mark Twain’s words:
Tip
Long quotations, which are forty words or more, are called block quotations. Block quotations frequently appear in longer essays and research papers.
Colons to Introduce Examples or Explanations
Use a colon to introduce an example or to further explain an idea presented in the first part of a sentence. The first part of the sentence must always be an independent clause; that is, it must stand alone as a complete thought with a subject and verb. Do not use a colon after phrases like such as or for example.
Correct: Our company offers many publishing services: writing, editing, and reviewing.
Incorrect: Our company offers many publishing services, such as: writing, editing, and reviewing.
Tip
Capitalize the first letter following a colon for a proper noun, the beginning of a quote, or the first letter of another independent clause. Do NOT capitalize if the information following the colon is not a complete sentence.
Proper noun: We visited three countries: Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.
Beginning of a quote: My mother loved this line from Hamlet: “To thine own self be true.”
Two independent clauses: There are drawbacks to modern technology: My brother’s cell phone died and he lost a lot of phone numbers.
Incorrect: The recipe is simple: Tomato, basil, and avocado.
Exercise 1
On your own sheet of paper, correct the following sentences by adding semicolons or colons where needed. If the sentence does not need a semicolon or colon, write OK.
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Don’t give up you never know what tomorrow brings.
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Our records show that the patient was admitted on March 9, 2019, January 13, 2020 and November 16, 2023.
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Allow me to introduce myself I am the greatest ice-carver in the world.
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Where I come from there are three ways to get to the grocery store by car, by bus, and by foot.
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Listen closely you will want to remember this speech.
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I have lived in Sedona, Arizona Baltimore, Maryland and Knoxville, Tennessee.
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The boss’s message was clear Lateness would not be tolerated.
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Next semester, we will read some more contemporary authors, such as Vonnegut, Miller, and Orwell.
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My little sister said what we were all thinking “We should have stayed home.”
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Trust me I have done this before.
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Key Takeaways
- Use a colon to introduce a list, quote, or example.
- Use a colon after a greeting in business letters and memos.
