HOW TO USE A COLON FULL
With commas and full stops, we use them to act as markers or guides. We all know what a question mark or exclamation mark says, and that quotation marks indicate what someone said. The use of good punctuation is one of the differences between being a writer and being a great writer.Įvery punctuation mark says something and adds to your writing richness. If you are ever in doubt about your punctuation, you can always use a grammar checker to help you out. If you use an em dash, it might be less formal. You’ve only got two logical choices–earn more or spend less.ĭeciding on which option would be better is a matter of style. You’ve only got two logical choices: earn more or spend less. So yes, it is an option to replace the colon in particular. It can-depending on the context-add emphasis, information, bring focus, or replace commas and set off parenthetical information in brackets. There is no doubt that the em or long dash is a favorite punctuation mark for a lot of writers. Some also add that you should use a capital letter for questions, dialogue, or a quotation.
HOW TO USE A COLON MANUAL
The Chicago Manual of Style, APA Style, AP Style, and MLA all agree that you use a capital letter for a word after if it is a proper noun.īut these guides also recommend using a capital letter when a colon introduces a new sentence or sentences. You only use a capital letter for a word after a colon if it is a proper noun or an acronym.įor American English, the rules can depend on your adherence to style guides. In British English, the rule is quite straightforward. It is especially practical for quotations. Be punctual.”Īs you can see in the last example, you can use two or more sentences afterward. The prime minister failed in his campaign promise: narrowing the gap between rich and poor. Never forget the old adage: the harder you work, the luckier you get. Joe finally got what he deserved: a long-overdue pay rise. You know what you have to do: study more. The rules forbid three things in the exam center: phones, calculators, and water bottles. Here are some examples in a sentence to help you. You can also think of a colon saying, this is what I mean. You can use it to add a list or group of words, offer an explanation, bring attention to something, add a quotation, or join different ideas together. It is not a continuation of a similar or related idea. It looks like two full stops on top of each other. One other point to remember is that you don’t capitalize after a semicolon unless the first word is a proper noun.Īlways consider using a range of sentence structures readers will really appreciate it. You need to remember that the correct use of commas with coordinating conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs still applies. Mary loves walking in the forest however, Sandra finds it boring. Mary loves walking in the forest moreover, Sam loves it too. Mary loves walking in the forest of course, it’s her favorite weekend activity. Mary loves walking in the forest, but Sandra finds it boring.īut when you use conjunctive adverbs such as however, instead, nevertheless, moreover and of course, you can use a semicolon. Mary loves walking in the forest and Sam loves it too. Mary loves walking in the forest, so it’s her favorite weekend activity. When you do this, you can’t use a semicolon. However, they could be joined with a coordinating conjunction like and, but or so to link sentences. You can see that these three examples could be separate sentences. Mary loves walking in the forest Sandra finds it boring. Mary loves walking in the forest Sam loves it too. Mary loves walking in the forest it’s her favorite weekend activity. Here are the three sentences with common uses of the semicolon.
Look at the following examples of three very simple sentences that you can form in different ways. When you use a semicolon, you don’t capitalize the first word for the second clause unless it is a proper noun.Īs with all punctuation, you can use it to create variety by avoiding repetitive forms in your writing. Think of it as a cross between a comma and a full stop. It means that you could also write them as two separate sentences.
When you use semicolons to separate two clauses, they must be directly related.