Correctly Using Colons

In formal writing, the colon is used only as a means of signaling that what follows is a list, definition, explanation, or concise summary of what has gone before. The colon usually follows an independent clause, and it will frequently be accompanied by a reinforcing expression like the following, as follows, or namely or by an explicit demonstrative pronoun like this.

• CORRECT: Your instructions are as follows: read the passage carefully, answer the questions on the last page, and turn over your answer sheet.
• CORRECT: This is what I found in the refrigerator: a moldy lime, half a bottle of stale soda, and a jar of peanut butter.

Be careful not to put a colon between a verb and its direct object.

• INCORRECT: I want: a slice of pizza and a small green salad.
• CORRECT: This is what I want: a slice of pizza and a small green salad. (The colon serves to announce that a list is forthcoming.)
• CORRECT: I don’t want much for lunch: just a slice of pizza and a small green salad. (Here what follows the colon defines what don’t want much means.)

Context will occasionally make clear that a second independent clause is closely linked to its predecessor, developing the previous clause further, even without an explicit expression like those used above. Here, too, a colon is appropriate, although a period will always be correct too.

CORRECT: We were aghast: the “charming country inn” that had been advertised in such glowing terms proved to be a leaking cabin full of mosquitoes.

Using Colons Practice Set

Correct the punctuation errors in the following sentences.

1. The residents of Mason City do not just enjoy: swimming, boating, and fishing.

2. The chef has created a masterpiece, the pasta is delicate yet firm, the mustard greens are fresh, and the medallions of veal are melting in my mouth.