Punctuation. Colons
General guidelines
- Use colons to introduce examples, explanations and specifications.
- A colon is receded by a complete sentence; what follows it may or may not be a complete sentence, and may be a list or even a single word.
University orientation provides a range of activities for new students: tours, workshops and social events.
Research centres are facing a troubling situation: budgets are shrinking.
They proposed the creation of a new post: unit coordinator.
Common mistakes: instead of a comma
- Do not use a colon to substitute a comma.
*To complete your admission application: send the required documents by the end of the month.
To complete your admission application, send the required documents by the end of the month.
Common mistakes with colons: after a preposition
- Do not use colons between a preposition and its complement.
*The Council announced cutbacks in: research funding, international cooperation and staff development.
The Council announced cutbacks in research funding, international cooperation and staff development.
Common mistakes with colons: two or more colons in a sentence
- Never use more than one colon in a sentence.
*The Council's priorities are controversial: they have been praised and criticised by all groups: PDI, PAS and students. - Note, however, that you can use a semi-colon and a colon together in the same sentence.
The Government cutbacks have been devastating; protests are planned by many people working in the most affected areas: education, healthcare and social services.
Other uses of colons
- When citing the name of a book which has both a title and a subtitle, separate the two with a colon. Do this even though no colon may appear on the cover or the title page of the book itself.
Human Towers: A Catalan Tradition - Use colons to write ratios.
Among students in the programme, women outnumbered men by more than 2:1. - However, in more formal contexts write out ratios in words.
Among students in the programme, women outnumbered men by more than two to one.
Comparteix: