Colon_
Explanation

The colon is used to mark a major division in sentences. The colon focuses the
reader's attention on what is to follow. Thus, one should use the colon to
introduce a list, a summation, or an idea that somehow completes the introductory
idea. The colon can be used in the above ways, however, only after an
independent clause
Example:
1. She visited three cities during her stay in the Maritimes: Halifax, Saint
John and Moncton.
2. Their lobbying efforts were ultimately useless: the bill was soundly
defeated.
3. My father gave me one good piece of advice: to avoid wasting time and
energy worrying about things I cannot change.

Colons are also used to separate groups of numbers referring to different things,
e.g. hours from minutes in 5:30 or the members of a ratio or proportion, as in
1:2
Enid Mukiri
©2007 Liberty University Graduate Writing Center
E-mail: graduatewriting@liberty.edu
Phone: 434-592-4727
Colon_
When Not to Use a Colon
A colon should not be placed between a verb and its object or subject complement, or
between a preposition and its object:
Example
Wrong
Her neighbor lent her: a pup-tent, a wooden canoe, and a slightly battered
Coleman stove. (colon between verb and objects)
Right
Her neighbor lent her a pup-tent, a wooden canoe, and a slightly battered
Coleman stove.
Wrong
His three goals are: to improve his public speaking skills, to increase his selfconfidence, and to sharpen his sales techniques. (colon between verb and subject
complement)
Right
His three goals are to improve his public speaking skills, to increase his selfconfidence and to sharpen his sales techniques.
Wrong
We traveled to: London, Wales, and Scotland (colon between preposition and
objects)
Right
We traveled to London, Wales, and Scotland.
Enid Mukiri
©2007 Liberty University Graduate Writing Center
E-mail: graduatewriting@liberty.edu
Phone: 434-592-4727
Colon_
Practice
1.
The announcement caught Susan by surprise Fans who are standing on the field
will be arrested.
2.
Jessica knew what she had to do when she saw the police remain calm.
3.
JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for
your country. "
4.
When choosing a computer, consider these three factors cost, speed and memory
and cost.
Resources
http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/colon.html
http://grammar.uoregon.edu/punctuation/colon.html
Enid Mukiri
©2007 Liberty University Graduate Writing Center
E-mail: graduatewriting@liberty.edu
Phone: 434-592-4727