Colons are two dots. They look like this:

:

This lesson shows you the colon rules and how to use them properly in your writing. You can find the tests at the bottom of the page.

Colon Uses

Colons can be used in many situations. Here are the most common:

Lists

Colons introduce a list. Here are a few examples:

• This is what I need from the market: potatoes, eggs, and bread.
• Please bring the following: pens, pencils, paper, calculator.
• I visited 5 cities: Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome.

When you introduce a list, the sentence before must be complete. Another way to think about it is that the list can’t be a necessary part of the sentence. If you’ve used a verb to be before the colon, you have made a mistake. These examples are wrong:

• Items I need from the market are: potatoes, eggs, and bread.
• Could you help: Mark, Mary, and Vijay?

You can fix them by adding a bit more to the introductory sentence, like in these corrected examples:

• These are the items I need from the market: potatoes, eggs, and bread.
• Please help the following students: Mark, Mary, and Vijay.

You could also just remove the colon, like in these:

• Items I need from the market are potatoes, eggs, and bread.
• Could you help Mark, Mary, and Vijay?

Between Titles and Subtitles

Colons separate the main title from a subtitle.

• Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Star Wars: Rogue One

Time

Colons separate the two parts of the time.

• 11:30, 12:15
• 3:00 pm

Salutations

Colons are used after formal salutations in letters or e-mails.

• Dear Jonathan Malone:
• To Whom It May Concern:

Quotations

Colons are used to introduce a quotation. This often includes large quotations separated from the rest of the text.

• The United Nations made this statement regarding poverty:

 

Those are the times when you need to use colons. Keep these rules in mind when you are writing in English. You may not use colons often, but by following these rules, you will use them correctly when needed.

Colon Tests

Are you ready for some colon tests. Try these:

Colons and Semicolons Test