Professional Documents
Culture Documents
How To Use Colons
How To Use Colons
6. It can also be used before a clause which explains the previous statement:
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There can be only one reason for this problem: his total
incompetence.
9. The colon is also used between the title and the sub-title of a book:
10. Following the colon, items in a list are punctuated with commas if they
are a succession of individual words.
You will need four ingredients: flour, butter, milk, and sugar.
11. If the items in the list contain clauses or phrases, these may be
punctuated with semicolons:
You will need the following materials: some scrap paper; a pen,
preferably blue or black; some envelopes; and some good, white,
unlined writing paper.
12. The colon requires careful handling. If in doubt, use separate sentences.
13. NB! The colon followed by a dash (: - ) is never necessary. [It's called a
'pointer'] The colon alone is sufficient, even before a list.
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How to use Colons - guidance notes Page 3 of 3
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