Colons 101

Colons are not the most frequently used punctuation in English, but they may be the trickiest to use correctly. While we may try to avoid these grammatical thorns, sooner or later we have to deal with them. Here is an outline of how to use and how not to use colons.

Use colons

• between two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction (that is, when the first clause is general and the second clause is specific and explains or illustrates the first)
  • Tad learned a good lesson that day: never judge a book by its cover.
• before lists and enumerations
  • There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
• before long quotations
  • Governor General Michaëlle Jean was upbeat in her message: "I am convinced that Canada will continue to accomplish great things if we work together for a better quality of life-for our own population and for humanity".
• with dialogue and transcriptions or question-and-answer format documents
  • Some Hon. Members: Hear! Hear!
• after a salutation in a business letter
  • Dear Mrs. Yee:
• in expressions of time
  • The shuttle will arrive at 3:45 p.m.
• between a title and subtitle
  • Canada: A People's History
• between chapter/verse, volume/page, or act/scene
  • John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible.
    History of Upper Canada, II:791
    Fortune and Men's Eyes, I:i
• between the location where a book was published and the name of the publisher
  • Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press

Do NOT use colons

• with a dash (especially common when introducing lists)

  WRONG: The three things you should bring on the trip are as follows: –

  • passport
  • sleeping bag
  • emergency contact information

  REVISED: The three things you should bring on the trip are as follows:

  • passport
  • sleeping bag
  • emergency contact information
    
    
• within an independent clause (separating a verb and its complement, a verb and its object, or a preposition and its object)

  WRONG: The memo was sent to: directors, managers and human resources.

  REVISED: The memo was sent to directors, managers and human resources.

  WRONG: The three things Absalom hates the most are: peas, reptiles and the dark.

  REVISED: The three things Absalom hates the most are peas, reptiles and the dark.

• with another colon in the same sentence

  WRONG: Joan visited the following countries: Italy, Germany and the most exotic: Morocco.

  REVISED: Joan visited the following countries: Italy, Germany and the most exotic, Morocco.

• after such as, including, for instance, or for example

  WRONG: I hate dried fruit such as: figs, raisins and apricots.

  REVISED: I hate dried fruit such as figs, raisins and apricots.