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Uses
Colons elaborate on what comes before them.
• Anthony’s logic is sound: without pancakes,
he says, syrup is useless.
• Carl was a talented guy: his many skills
included playing bass guitar, drawing hilarious cartoons, and talking
politics.
Colons introduce lists.
• The costume contest winners exhibited
three qualities: imaginativeness, ingenuity, and sewing prowess.
Be careful: colons shouldn’t introduce lists that are
already introduced by verbs or prepositions.
• Margaret’s thrilling summer work options
include mowing lawns, serving hamburgers, and babysitting.
• Manny can’t wait to don his Red Sox
cap, go to Yankee Stadium, and pick a fight.
Colons signal definitions.
• Hipster: a bespectacled,
trucker-hat-wearing inhabitant of Williamsburg
Colons can introduce commands.
• You, in the blue fedora: tell me where
we can find some prairie dogs.
Capitalization
In almost all cases, keep words after colons lowercased.
Even if a colon precedes a complete sentence, don’t capitalize the
word after the colon.
• Listen to me: we must leave on the
boat right away.
Capitalize only if two or more complete sentences follow
colons.
• Petra debated with herself: She could
tell Tim about the toilet paper stuck to his shoe. On the other
hand, she could keep quiet and let him look like an idiot.
Capitalize after colons if you’re writing dialogue.
• MARIA: Where do you get the nerve? RICHARD:
Maria, I prefer to call it bravery.
Note that proper names following colons should always
be capitalized.
• The excuses were especially creative
today: Hunter, for example, claimed a secret interview with the
C.I.A. had prevented him from finishing his homework.
When it comes to capitalizing subtitles that follow
colons, the rule is easy to remember: always capitalize them.
• Brenda’s favorite book is Weird
Al: The Singer Speaks.
• Spot: A Dog’s Life is
told from a puppy’s perspective.
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