You shouldn't use this construction to connect more than two clauses. First, each example contains two clauses. That is, they stand in for commas in lists when commas alone would be confusing. A colon (:) is a type of punctuation that comes before an explanation, description, definition, or list. Here's a good rule of thumb.

Though the Romans disregarded the punctuation marks after conquering the Greeks, the dots eventually were given new life in the seventh century by Isidore of Seville. How and why would you use them? In the first quote, which joins a sentence followed by a nonsentence clause, Deresiewic uses the colon to show that citizens who receive a liberal arts education are the same group as people who can think broadly and critically. Colons to Introduce a List; Colons to Introduce a Quote; Colons to Introduce Examples or Explanations. A librarian there named Aristophanes developed a series of three dots to break up the unbroken stream of text that had been the norm in writing at the time. Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. "She went to great lengths to emphasize this: "Kindness never fades."Mrs. Use a colon in a citation to separate the chapter and page number, as in: "The dog trainer gave us this instruction: "Love your dog and she will love you. In this guide, we’ll address the proper use of colons and provide examples for reference. Second, you do not capitalize the first word in the second clause. The AP says the punctuation mark should be used for: Colon punctuation can also be used after the salutation (greeting) of a formal letter or a business letter. It was also during the latter century when the lower case letters became part of the written alphabet. In such usage, the colon functions in much the same way as the semicolon. It was the worst of times.’‘It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.’Semicolons can also be used when writing a list. Punctuation is the collection of marks that we use to make sentences flow smoothly and express meaning clearly. You can also use a colon after the greeting in business letters and memos. Learn exactly how & when to use comma, semicolon, colon, dash, exclamation mark, inverted commas, question mark, full stop. Table of Contents Sentence EndingsComma and ColonApostrophe and EllipsisExclamation Mark …

Here we share the basics of when to use a colon. Do not use a colon to separate a … Examples: Dear Sir or Madam: To Whom It May Concern: Gentlemen: Superintendent of Schools: Dear Selection Committee: Common misuses of the colon 1. The dots, aligned with the middle, bottom, or top of each line, represented what today would be a colon, comma, and period, respectively. Let's take a look!I just want you to remember: two can play at that game.You can come pick me up now: I am feeling much better.Barry wanted to know why I didn't respond to his text: I hadn't received it.The town reminded me of my childhood vacations: both were on the beach.You may also see colons come before a long list of items.

Proficiency will never go out of style.Ready for another controversial punctuation mark?

In this example, a colon is used to introduce a list of things that Tom's mum cooks that he doesn't like. The semi-colon is very effective when you would combine two slightly related clauses or two independent clauses together into a single sentence.

For example, comma divided words and phrases, colon separated clauses, while period meant the end of a sentence. After reading the handout, you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing. Morris preaches this concept: "Second place is first loser. As in this famous opening line from a Charles Dickens’ novel, ‘It was the best of times. Semicolons represent two closely linked independent clauses. 2 Punctuation Exercises .

Colons can do more than offset a long, bulleted list. Use a colon to introduce lists, quotes, examples, and explanations. Each item in the list contains commas itself, so using commas to separate the items would lead to ambiguity.As such, the semicolon comes to the rescue to divide the lists, acting as a comma, but allowing for greater organization and clarity.As far as travel through the United States, I've visited Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco, California.Please pack my anthologies on short stories, poetry, and Shakespearean plays; my biographies on Jackie Kennedy, Charles Stuart, and Queen Elizabeth; and my historical romance novels by Nora Roberts, Jude Devereux, and Diana Gabaldon.You can order a sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese; ham, egg, tomato, and cheese; or tomato, lettuce, and avocado.Wasn't that exciting? What's about to come after the colon is meant to further illustrate whatever was mentioned before the colon.There are two choices at this time: run away or fight.He wanted to see three cities in Italy: Rome, Florence, and VeniceHere are three states that begin with M: Michigan, Mississippi, and Maine.This house has everything I need: two bedrooms, a backyard, and a garage.I have several favorite genres of movies: drama, science fiction, and mystery.I bought a lot of meat at the store: bacon, turkey, chicken, and tuna.Colons can also be used to introduce a quotation of someone else's words. In most lists, it’s enough to use commas to separate the items.