Grammar Rules for Colons: How to avoid misuse |

The punctuation world is rife with opportunities to enhance your writing. Rather than filling your pieces with commas and periods, you can mix things up using colons, semicolons, and dashes. In this blog, we’re going to discuss the grammar rules for colons.

The Function of a Colon

A colon ( : ) is a marking with two dots stacked on top of each other. It appears after an independent clause and directs you to the information that follows. A colon introduces material and highlights the information before it.

Colons Introduce

Think of a colon as an arrow that points to the information that comes after it. In this mindset, colons are much less confusing in their usage. They imply phrases such as “thus,” “as follows,” or “which is/are.”

ex. Mary has three favorite colors: red, blue, and orange.

Here, the colon indicates that you’re about to learn Mary’s favorite colors. We can add “which are” in place of the colon, and the meaning of the sentence remains the same. When we use a colon before a list, as this example shows, the sentence becomes less wordy and appears more streamlined.

You may also use a colon to introduce a quote.

ex. She closed her speech with the words of Mother Teresa: “Peace begins with a smile.”

Colons Clarify

Additionally, colons can further clarify a sentence simply by acting as that arrow.

ex. Cassie had two premonitions so far: one of the past and one of the future.

Notice you can read the sentence this way: Cassie had two premonitions (and they are as follows): one of the past and one of the future.

Rules for Colons and Independent Clauses

Quick reminder: an independent clause is another name for a complete sentence. An independent clause can stand on its own because it has a subject and a predicate (or verb).

A colon can separate two independent clauses under two circumstances:

when the two clauses are directly related (not vaguely related)
when you want to emphasize the second clause

ex. My dog is a rescue: we don’t know his breed.

ex. All of a sudden, it dawned on me: I wasn’t angry anymore.

You can also put a semicolon or period between two independent clauses that are related. However, a colon gives a different vibe. It’s not as final as a period, but it’s more solid than a semicolon.

Rules for Colons: What Not to Do

A colon should never separate the following:

a noun from a verb
a verb and its object or subject complement
a preposition from its object
a subject from its predicate

Incorrect: Mary’s favorite colors are: red, blue, and orange.

This example is incorrect because the colon separates the verb (“are”) from its subject complements (“red, blue, and orange”). Note that the correct version of this example was used above.

Incorrect: For their honeymoon, the couple backpacked through: Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

This example is incorrect because the colon separates the preposition (“through”) from its objects (“Ireland, Scotland, and Wales”). To correct this sentence, simply remove the colon.

Summary

Colons are great: they offer a different punctuation option. (See what I did there?) There aren’t a ton of rules for colons, so hopefully, this blog makes colons less scary and easier to understand.

About the Writer: Brigid Levi is a freelance writer and editor based in the Philadelphia area. She has three children, a husband-child, and a dog. When she’s not freelancing or working on her own writing, Brigid can be found under all the blankets with coffee, tea, or wine (depending on the time of day) and a sweeping historical fiction novel. She hopes to publish her YA fantasy/adventure novel in the near future! Find out more about Brigid on her website.

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Grammar Rules for Colons: How to avoid misuse