A colon ( : ) may be used to introduce a list, an appositive, or a quotation.
A complete sentence must always precede a colon.
Using Colons Properly
1) Use a colon between two main clauses if the second clause exemplifies,
explains, or summarizes the first clause.
He went many places: he visited the library, the park, and the mall.
2) Use a colon to introduce a list or a series of items.
Susan bought the following items: a purse, a blouse, and some pumps.
3) Use a colon to introduce an appositive.
There is only one method for mastering an instrument: practice.
4) Use a colon to introduce a long quotation.
His father gave him good advice: “Never surrender to your opponent, not
even if
you are overpowered.”
5) Use a colon after a formal salutation in a letter.
Dear Regional Representative:
I thank you for explaining your support of current regional policies to me.
Sincerely, Rupert Jones
6) Use a colon to cite chapters and verses from the Bible. MLA style uses
a
period instead of a colon when citing chapters and verses from the Bible.
He read Matthew 11:12.
7) Use a colon between numbers in ratios.
The ratio of boys to girls in that class is 4:5.
8) Use a colon to indicate a subtitle.
His class must read Modern Illusions: Surviving the Twenty-First Century
by next
week.
9) Use a colon to set apart a book’s city of publication from its publisher in
a
bibliography.
O’Connor, Flannery. The Violent Bear It Away. New York: Noonday, 1960.
10) Use a colon to separate hours from minutes and minutes from seconds.
She arrived home at 12:30 p.m.
Her best recorded time for running around the track is 2:32:21.
11) Never use a colon between a verb and its object or a preposition and its
object; also, never use a colon before a list introduced by the phrase “such
as.”
The world of music has been changed by masters of composition such as Bach,
Beethoven, and Mozart.