Rowena Jayne
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Style guide

How to use a colon | And something about the Ancient Greeks

how to use a colon
 

Colons

Most people instinctively understand what colons are for: they signal a big announcement. There’s a gravitas to them. There’s a visual clue you’re underlining something. There’s a note to your eyes to stop reading for a second and connect what follows.

Use a colon to introduce what comes after it.

Again, it all goes back to the ancient Greeks—punctuation is just creative direction; it was originally intended to show how text was meant to be read aloud. Even just on the page, it helps you hear tone of voice.

The most important thing with colons is to pay attention to the sentences on either side of them. Whatever happens, make sure the sentence before the colon is independent.

  • Use a capital letter the content following the colon is a complete sentence or more. If it’s not, don’t use one.

I had only one thing on my mind: horror films, and lots of them.

Jason had several mottos: Play well. Be kind. Go crazy.

Use a colon to introduce a list or item.

  • Don’t capitalize the first letter of the first item, unless it requires it.

I watched three films today: Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream, and Lost Highway.

She knew it would only take one thing to get through this day: sandpaper.

If you itemize the list in a bullet format, follow the normal rules for punctuation

  • Full sentences should have terminating punctuation.

  • Don’t use full stops if the bullets are not sentences.

I watched three films today:

1. Dancer in the Dark

2. Requiem for a Dream

3. Lost Highway

She required three things from any man wishing to court her:

1. He must have a great sense of humour.

2. He must be able to swim.

3. He should at least carry one good pencil at all times.

If the second sentence explains or elaborates on the first sentence, you can use a colon instead of a semicolon.

She got what she had paid for: The cheese was luxurious and worth every penny.

Use a colon for ratios and times

  • 1:4

  • 15:33

  • 08:00 PM

  • 4:29 am

 
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