Questions tagged [colons]
This tag is for questions about the usage of colons.
47
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Can a colon lists out multiple incomplete sentences?
I raised a similar question here, but the bulleted list example in the only answer to that question confused me, just like this case, as below, I encountered here:
A user agent may terminate service ...
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1
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A questionable use of colon in this context
I encountered the following strange sentence on this page:
Traditionally, websites are less like "something the user has" and more like "somewhere the user visits". Typically, a ...
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2
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Comma or colon or nothing
I am having a bit of trouble understanding when to use a colon, or not.
I heard her whisper "I'm cold."
I heard her whisper: "I'm cold."
I think the first one is correct, but why?
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What's the meaning of "Courtesy: [Name]" in an advertisement?
What does the word "courtesy" mean with a ':'? Does it show the polite behaviour of the person named in the ad or does it show polite behaviour to him or is it a way to thank him?
Food ...
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Use of colon after words
Good afternoon! Let's say I want to give an example and I write :
Example:
The text of my example.
Am I grammatically correct? Should I use colon after the word example in the text above? What else ...
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Why is "while" incorrect in "The tone of the interview varied: (while) one video showed the teacher acting cordial"?
While solving this SAT question, I didn't understand why the answer is c. Would anyone elaborate on this please?
In a psychological experiment investigating the halo effect, two groups of college ...
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What is the correct punctuation for "they would probably title the article: Man, dog's worst friend"? [closed]
Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
(A) They would probably title the
article man: dog's worst friend.
(B) They would probably title the article: Man, dog's worst friend.
(C) They would probably ...
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1
answer
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Is "?:" still not a valid punctuation or has it come into use? What is the best replacement for this when the question is too long?
Is "?:" still not a valid punctuation, or has it come into use? https://english.stackexchange.com/a/90994/443467 is when the question is short. What is the best replacement for this when the ...
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1
answer
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Do you capitalize this sentence after colon?
I'm using a style of capitalizing a complete sentence after a colon.
Here's the example sentence:
To minimize the time needed to traverse the large forest, I divided the fifty guards into three ...
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1
answer
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"heat" or "heating" after a colon
I'm wondering whether "heat" or "heating" should be used in the following:
Try this physical experiment: heat/heating air so that it expands.
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What is the sentence trying to convey?
Why is colon placed in the following sentence? What silence are they talking about?
The nature of our sources may account for this silence : martyrs and confessors, through their sufferings, were ...
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Is this grammatically correct?- colon after question [closed]
Where does it come from?: nowhere.
Is this use of colon okay?
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answer
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How to understand the structure "And protect them she did:＂?
A quote from ACT english test passage:
And protect them she did: When workers went on strike, Jones secured food donations and temporary living arrangements. Where companies prevented the formation ...
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2
answers
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"a much older dating method: dendrochronology" or" a much older dating method, dendrochronology"?
They turned to a much older dating method: dendrochronology, the use of tree rings for mapping intervals of time. (From ACT English)
Why in this case has it to be a colon, but not a comma? I think ...
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1
answer
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This phrase needs a comma or a colon?
Phrase:
The goal of this project is to translate to English and make more accessible the resources: resource1 and resource2, which are descriptions ...
The punctuation on this phrase is correct? Do ...
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0
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When to properly use colon?
Which of the following instructions is correct?
Solve the following equations:
1-5 equations
or
Solve the following equations.
1-5 equations
I'm not sure if I need to use a colon or just a ...
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How to correctly introduce an object
How do I correctly introduce the clause 'her mother's life' in this sentence? Should I use a colon, comma or something else?
First, it is worth noting that her fear is about an object: her mother’s ...
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2
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Comma or colon?
Hello how can I determine if something is a parenthetical phrase?
For example:
That was a new consideration: whole-body ectothermy in a variety of bees.
Is this correct? Or would a comma work better?...
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Use of colon in bibliography
An article describes one of the usage of colon as:
In bibliography entries.
Many citation styles use a colon to
separate information in bibliography entries.
Example: Kurlansky, M.
(2002). ...
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1
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Semicolon or colon in this sentence
I want to put an semicolon in his sentence, but I am not sure it is right.
Hi, SCM deployed this; it is ready for testing.
Also, could a colon be used in place of the semi-colon?
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How to punctuate a complex sentence with two quotes?
Supposing, there is a sentence:
For example, if parents ask their son or daughter: “There are 10
ballerinas at the theater but all of female dancers have gone on the
tour. How many ballerinas ...
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How to use colon correctly in a presentation
I would like to clearly understand how to use a colon in a presentation. I read that the colon : is used to add further information to the sentence. I wonder how to use it in a presentation to add ...
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How to use colons while defining multiple words in a sentence?
Is there a particular way to combine all these terms and definitions after the colon?
The Four Nobel Truths are: One, Dukkha, desire to want what you had
and not wanting what you did not have; ...
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1.You may ask: "What does it mean?" , 2."What does it mean?" you may ask. Which one is correct?
1.You may ask: "What does it mean?"
2."What does it mean?" you may ask.
● Which one is correct?
● Is the usage of the "s correct?
● What's the difference between them, if any?
● What about ...
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What's more appropriate? (colon and semicolon usage)
She excelled in baking: her cakes and cookies won many awards.
Why should we use a colon and not a semicolon? Or can a semicolon still be utilized in place of a colon (in this example)?
We had a ...
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2
answers
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To use a colon or comma
I'm wondering whether to use a colon, semicolon or comma in the following sentence.
I've come to a tough conclusion: The second book is better than the first.
Is that correct? Or would a semicolon ...
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Correct way to enumerate ideas in English
My mother tongue is Spanish and in Spanish the correct way to enumerate ideas is saying something like the following:
I have many ideas, among them we can find: idea A; idea B; idea C ;and finally, ...
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Using a colon to introduce a proper title
Is it appropriate to use a colon to introduce a title of a book/publication/etc in the middle of a sentence? For instance, consider the following example
My hard work resulted in a book: "X" with co-...
user57711
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Poorly explained usage of grammar construction
The question in this context asks us to suggest a suitable rewrite for the underlined portion of the sentence [6]. That portion is numbered 29 and I've indicated it through an arrow. On the right you'...
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Colon use - Can I use a colon here?
In the sentence,
"My school requires the following: a resume and a good grades."
Can I use a colon? I realize that grammar rules require an independent clause before the colon. Is, "My school ...
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2
answers
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Colon & Semi-colon before AND
I've studied that comma is used before FANBOYS ("For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So"), but in the following lines extracted from text there had been used colon and semicolon before AND. I could not ...
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Two Punctuations?
May I go there?: I often thought, of this.
I think: I have, maybe, seen: some two punctuations, in, some, books. May you get to use this, in proper, grammatical, English grammar?
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Colon or Semicolon for this sentence [closed]
If I ever told you I like apples: I lied.
or
If I ever told you I like apples; I lied.
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Comma placement instead of colon?
I recently came across this sentence in my philosophy book, and it is puzzling me.
"From this point he was known as Benedict de Spinoza rather than Baruch, his Jewish name."
Should there be a ...
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2
answers
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Why is this usage of colon right?
The previous sentence states some fruits don't respond well to 1-MCP so this is and example of that.
This came from an SAT question:
Take Bartlett pears, for instance, unless they are treated with ...
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difference between colon and dash
I'm trying to explain to students the difference between colon and dash, but I'm having trouble explaining why dash is better than colon in the following sentence:
In 2016, Leonardo DiCaprio finally ...
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2
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No Complete Sentences, Colons?
Almost every summer he thinks: This is the best summer. But this summer, he knows, really is the best. And not just the summer: the spring, the winter, the fall. As he gets older, he is given, ...
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Can colons be used to indicate a consequence?
I wonder whether colons may be used to indicate a consequence.
Example:
Texts usually appear in sequence: using information from preceding texts may improve the classification accuracy.
Texts ...
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Problem with the sentence structure. Colon
I have the sentence below. This sentence can be split into separate parts, but I'm confused by the use of colons. I added the first colon, because I want to list my career goals:
Become an expert.
...
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Must a complete sentence precede a colon?
Take this sentence:
I want the following: butter, sugar, and flour.
The part of the sentence that appears before the colon seems to not contain a noun; I seems to be an object, want seems to be a ...
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2
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2
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Confusion about the use of colon
All the Leo Messi fans here in this sub: if he joined either City or Chelsea, would you then hate him?
IS the use of colon in the sentence above is correct? Actually I don't know the proper use of ...
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My relationship to the patient is that of: ____?
Say, a mother is filling out a form for her daughter (patient) at the hospital. Which one should she put down in the given space - Mother or Daughter? I am assuming either one of these must be the ...
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What does a sentence/title take (from 'em', 'en', dashes or 'colon') at the end while describing the list or some content?
I often find it confusing using something at the end of the sentence or title that describes a list or content below it.
The sentence example:
Here is the list of services we provide (':', '--' or ...
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Colon/question mark conflict in a question containing a description
Which punctuation mark to use in a sentence that contains a description (needs colon) and a question (needs question mark)?
Example:
How would you act in a situation like this one: you are trapped ...
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3
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Does using a colon (:) correctly combine these 2 sentences?
I'm asking about the following construction. I'm not sure whether the way I use a colon to combine my sentences is correct.
Here, I would like to summarize the reasons for my extension
request: ...
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Can a colon be regarded as a junction for complex sentences?
Bessie and Abbot having retreated, Mrs. Reed, impatient of my now frantic anguish and wild sobs, abruptly thrust me back and locked me in, without farther parley. I heard her sweeping away; and soon ...
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Which is right in this sentence: semicolon or colon?
Daylight began to forsake the red-room; it was past four o'clock, and the beclouded afternoon was tending to drear twilight. I heard the rain still beating continuously on the staircase window, and ...
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