Colons and Semicolons: How Do We Use Them Correctly?
- Admin
- Jul 17, 2018
- 4 min read
While many of us may believe grade school gave us a firm enough grasp of punctuation, colons and semicolons can be incredibly befuddling and raise various questions regarding their use. “Must I use a comma, or may I use a semicolon instead? If I use a semicolon, how do I really know if my sentence is grammatically correct? What about colons? Are they used only for lists?”
In middle school and early high school, I actively avoided using colons and semicolons in order to avoid any corrections from my English teacher. If I had a dollar for every time I rewrote a sentence to avoid using a colon, I would have at least had enough money to buy a grammar guide that may have taught me how to use them. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) provides an extensive guide on proper colon use and helps dispel any myths or doubts about your ability to properly use a colon. Listed below are some CMOS tips on how to correctly use colons and semicolons in formal writing.
Colons to Connect Clauses
When a colon is used between independent clauses, it functions similarly to a semicolon, and in some cases either mark may be appropriate. Because of the colon’s emphatic nature, however, you ought to use them sparingly and only to highlight that the latter clause demonstrates or reinforces the former.
Parking in the city wasn’t cheap: one could either pay three dollars an hour or forty a week.
Note that the first word of the clause after the colon is lowercase. This is the case except when the word after the colon is a proper noun or when the colon introduces speech, dialogue, or multiple sentences.
Colons with Introductory Phrases
Colons are frequently used after as follows, the following, and similar expressions that introduce another clause. Correct examples of this are as follows:
Newton’s research produced the following theories: First, . . . . Second, . . . .
The ingredients needed to bake chocolate chip cookies are as follows: flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and baking powder.
Expressions like namely and for example do not merit the use of a colon; a comma will usually suffice.
Colons Introducing Quotations or Questions
Colons are frequently used to introduce dialogue.
Edmund: Girls aren’t very good at keeping maps in their head. Lucy: That’s because we’ve got something in them.
Colons may also be used to introduce quotations or direct but unquoted questions, especially when the introduction consists of a grammatically complete sentence.
The author sagely notes that people are often blinded to the truth by their own biases: “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
Colons in Formal Communication
Colons typically follow an address at the beginning of a speech or other types of formal communication.
To Whom It May Concern:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Colon Faux Pas
Some of the most common colon errors occur when writing lists. While many writers assume a list or series necessitates the use of a colon, a good question to ask is whether the colon interrupts what would otherwise be a grammatical sentence. If the answer is yes, then the colon is most likely being used incorrectly. According to CMOS,
a colon . . . should not be used before a series that serves as the object of a verb. When in doubt, apply this test: to merit a colon, the words that introduce a series or list must themselves constitute a grammatically complete sentence.
See below for an example.
[correct] The required texts include Homer’s Iliad, Plato’s Republic, and Augustine’s Confessions.
[incorrect] The required texts include: Homer’s Iliad, Plato’s Republic, and Augustine’s Confessions.
One exception to this is when a series or list is introduced by a word or phrase and the verb is elided or understood.
Pros: large square footage and a newly renovated kitchen. Cons: longer commute to the office and a small yard. [The pros include large square footage and a newly renovated kitchen. Cons consist of a longer commute to the office and a small yard.]
Semicolons
CMOS states that semicolons are most commonly used between two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction in order to demonstrate a closer relationship between the two clauses than a period would.
Samuel decided his birthday party deserved a cake worthy of such an occasion; plain vanilla would never do.
Sometimes Chloe reads entire novels in one sitting; her love of literature persists beyond the last page of each book she finishes.
Semicolons and Conjunctions
A semicolon may also be used when a coordinating conjunction introduces an independent clause. Commas are frequently used instead, but a semicolon may be used to imply a stronger distinction between clauses or when the second independent clause has internal punctuation.
Charlie was sure his father had promised him a weekend camping trip; yet there was no mention of it on the family calendar.
Christa insisted on going to the beach; but her boyfriend’s resistance, in addition to the sweltering heat, persuaded her to go to a movie instead.
Semicolons and Conjunctive Adverbs
When certain adverbs are used to join two independent clauses, they ought to be preceded by a semicolon rather than a comma. Such conjunctive adverbs include however, thus, hence, indeed, accordingly, besides, and therefore.
Mitchell’s flight was delayed three hours; accordingly, he missed his connecting flight.
Despite the time of day, Laura knew she could make it to her appointment on time; besides, she knew a shortcut that would bypass evening traffic.
While CMOS abounds with helpful advice on colon and semicolon use, it ultimately advises to save the use of colons for when you truly need them. For more answers to your common writing questions, check out our guide to commonly misused words and phrases and tips on writing proper endnotes and bibliographies.
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