New 16-page booklet
Punctuate 
Like A Pro!

Colons

It's almost summertime, and often we don't want to think too deeply about things during this time. So this month's focus is on a simple punctuation mark: the colon.

There are several reasons to use a colon, and we'll explore two of them here.

Introducing a list within a sentence
You must have a complete sentence before the colon.  Although it's possible to end a sentence with either a verb or a preposition, we rarely do.  These two types of words are ones to watch out for; if they're not the logical end of a sentence, you cannot place a colon after them.

Here's an example of what NOT to do: The people who will be at the meeting are:  Susan, Amy, and Fred.

Because are is a verb that doesn't end the sentence, we can't place a colon after it.

The correct (not necessarily the best) way to write that sentence is to simply remove the colon:  The people who will be at the meeting are Susan, Amy, and Fred.

You could also change the first few words to create a complete sentence:  There will be several people at the meeting: Susan, Amy, and Fred.

You could also change the wording to create a tighter sentence:  Susan, Amy, and Fred will be at the meeting.

Here's another example of NOT:  The silverware set consists of:  knives, forks, and spoons.

Because of is a preposition and doesn't end of the sentence here, we can't use the colon after it.  Again, simply remove the colon for a correctly punctuated sentence, or change the first few words to create a complete sentence before the colon.

Introducing a bulleted-style list
The rule changes when we create a bulleted list.  In this case, we can use anything in front of the colon -- full sentence or fragment.  It's considered less formal, so the rule is relaxed.  This is a great way to highlight information for the reader -- if you have the space.

You can use a sentence fragment.

You can also use a full sentence.

Hope this helps!