How to Use a Colon Correctly Every Time

Do you forget how to use a colon every time you’re supposed to use one? Do you wish you could finally figure out the best ways to remember? Well, this is the article for you.

Knowing how to write with colons can be really tricky, especially as we learn them at the age of ten and then never cover them again. In fact, very few people can accurately use them.

You are finally going to know to accurately use colons, from my main colon hack to the fine details of their grammar, including lists and normal usage (yes, that means lists should not be your default colon use!).

This article is all about how to use a colon.

How to Use a Colon

My Colon Top Tip

If you take nothing else from this article, remember this: colons are for explanation.

And not just for lists!

What do I mean by that? Well, my colon hack is that anything after a colon needs to explain whatever comes before it. Often, the second half answers a question raised before the colon. Here is an example:

James rushed to the kitchen: he was starving.

Here, the part of the sentence after the colon explains James’s actions in the first half. The question we ask is ‘Why did James rush to the kitchen?’, which is explained by ‘He was starving.’ Here are a few more examples:

Sara looked at her watch: she was running late.

The question is ‘Why is Sara looking at her watch?’, which is explained after the colon by the fact that she is running late.

Abed carefully considered the scene in front of him: it looked just like the set of a TV show.

The question is ‘What was so interesting about the scene that Abed had to consider it carefully?’ The answer is that it looked like a TV show. (Incidentally, anyone get the reference??)

Alex had an important message to pass on: the picnic would have to be cancelled due to the rain.

What message does Alex need to pass on, I wonder? That the picnic would need to be cancelled, of course!

A Detailed Dive into Colon Grammar

Now you know my top tip, here’s a bit more detail on exactly how to use a colon. This is important for anyone who wants to always use colons perfectly.

The Rule You Must Remember…

The most important rule you need to learn is that either side of a colon should be a main clause. A main clause is part of a sentence that makes sense on its own, in contrast to subordinate clauses, which do not. Here’s an example of what I mean:

Freya rushed to school in the hopes of arriving on time.

Note how the main clause makes sense by itself – read the red section out loud if you are unsure. Reading the subordinate clause (blue) by itself, however, doesn’t make quite as much sense!

So if you want to use colons, you must make sure either side of the colon makes sense by itself.

Colons in a List

Alright, now for the section you’ve all been waiting for: colons in a list! This is pretty much the only common use of colons for most people, but it is certainly not their most exciting use.

Here are two examples of colons introducing a list:

Last year I read these books: Oliver Twist, The Lord of the Flies and The Hobbit

Matthew needed four ingredients for his cake: eggs, butter, sugar and flour.

The first thing you’ll probably notice is that when a colon introduces a list, the second half does not need to be a main clause.

HOWEVER…

The part of the sentence before the colon absolutely must still be a main clause. This…

I need to buy: eggs, ham and chips.

is totally incorrect, and a real pet peeve of mine! It’s also the single most common mistake people make with colons. To use correct colon punctuation in the above sentence, it would have to look like this:

I need to buy the following ingredients: eggs, ham and chips.

Alright, that’s everything you need to know about colons, from my top tip of checking for explanation to a brief understanding of colons in lists. I hope it has been helpful!

This article was all about how to use a colon.

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