Red alert! We punctuate our regular series on creative writing with some disturbing breaking news. There have been reported sightings of PML (Punctuation Mark on the Loose). We are specifically talking about the colon (:). This devilishly slippery mark has been observed at almost every position in a sentence of student writing. It seems to flout the laws of English language mechanics and refuses to be pinned down despite repeated admonishing and lecturing. Who knew these two little vertical dots could give us so much trouble?
No need to fret. We are here to set the record straight: once and for all. Pay attention students! Take notes if you wish, because the colon cannot be misunderstood anymore.
Let’s first start with understanding what a colon is and what it does to your writing. Yes, this sounds theoretical and boring, but be patient: you will be rewarded.
A colon is the calm before the storm. In other words, it is a pause before you make a major announcement or dive into an explanation. It always points the way ahead, that is, it puts the spotlight on the words that follow it. Colons introduce lists of items, make announcements and explain or elaborate points. Consider the following examples for each of the aforementioned purposes:
What makes your book a bestseller depends on three things: imagination, diligence and a bit of luck. (List)
Despite being old and derelict, the cottage was everything Emily wanted: a place to call home. (Announcement)
I’ve always hated the summer season: it is sticky, it is hot, and it smells. (Explanation)
A dexterous use of the colon takes your writing to another level by creating variation in sentence structure and evoking a pleasant cadence or rhythm (rise and fall of language).
Now, we come to the tricky and ‘misunderstood’ part: where to place the colon? Take a look again at the examples given above. What do these examples have in common? They all have the colon coming after independent clauses.
Students often get intimidated by the rather bombastic sounding expression, an independent clause. In simple words, it means nothing but a group of words which make a complete or meaningful sentence. Let’s look at some examples:
Jim finished his homework. (Independent clause)
When Jim finished his homework. (Incomplete)
The second example is not a complete sentence. It does not tell us what happened when Jim finished his homework. By adding an independent clause (complete sentence) to it, we can turn it into a complete sentence:
When Jim finished his homework, he went out to play cricket with his friends. (Independent clause)
He went out to play cricket with his friends. (Independent clause)
Here’s another example:
Jim went to the airport. (Independent clause)
In order to see his friends off. (Incomplete: what did he do in order to see off his friends?)
Jim went to the airport in order to see his friends off. (Independent clause)
Let’s go back to our subject of discussion today. A colon can be placed only after a complete sentence (an independent clause).
A bestseller depends on: imagination, diligence and a bit of luck. (Incorrect)
To make a bestseller you need: imagination, diligence and a bit of luck. (Incorrect)
In each of the examples above, we don’t have a complete sentence preceding the colon. A bestseller depends on what? To make a bestseller you need what? These examples can be corrected in the following way:
- By writing a complete sentence before the colon
What makes your book a bestseller depends on three things: imagination, diligence and a bit of luck. (The underlined part is a complete sentence)
A bestseller depends on the following three things: imagination, diligence and a bit of luck. (The underlined part is a complete sentence)
- By removing the colon
A bestseller depends on imagination, diligence and a bit of luck.
To make a bestseller you need imagination, diligence and a bit of luck.
So, what do you think now? Have we cleared some misconceptions? We end this post with a small test. Can you pick the sentence with the correct usage of the colon?
Copy the mail and send it to: the director, the assistant manager and the recruiting team.
Life is a game: you either win or lose.
As your new leader, I only desire: what is best for you all.