Keep Your Colon (Use) Clean

PUNCTUATION MONDAY

Looking to get some attention? Use a colon.

Let’s start with some of the uses that we can easily get our heads around.

Use a colon after a salutation in a formal letter
Dear Sir or Madam:

Use a colon to indicate hours and minutes
5:30

Use a colon to show ratios
The ratio of apples to oranges was 2:1.

Use a colon between a title and subtitle
The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek Family

Use a colon to separate city from publisher in bibliographic entries
Winnipeg: Portage and Main Press, 2005

Now for the uses that require a little bit of eye squinting and head scratching.

1. Use a colon after an independent clause to direct attention to a list, quotation or appositive (you’ll remember from last week that an appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames a nearby noun).

(List) Your grocery list should include the following: three frog cuticles, one large dragon, six gallons of unicorn blood and pinch of pixie dust.

(Quotation) Consider the words of Nigel Powers: “There’s only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures and the Dutch.”

(Appositive) I am described by two of the seven deadly sins: sloth and gluttony.

2. Use a colon between independent clauses if the second summarizes or explains the first.

Minds are like parachutes: they function only when opened.

3. Don’t use a colon after such as, including or for example.