COLON

COLON. The PUNCTUATION mark (:). It has an anticipatory effect, leading from what precedes to what follows. The following are the main uses: (1) To introduce a list of items: You will need the following: a pen, pencil, rubber, piece of paper, and ruler. (2) To introduce speech or quoted material, as a stronger alternative to the comma: I told them last week: ‘Do not in any circumstances open this door.’ (3) To lead or ‘point’ from one CLAUSE to another: from introduction to theme (I want to say this: we are deeply grateful to all of you); from statement to example (It was not easy: to begin with, I had to find the right house); from cause to effect (The weather was bad: so we stayed at home); from premiss to conclusion (There are hundreds of wasps in the garden: there must be a nest there); from statement to explanation (I gave up: I had tried everything without success). (4) To introduce an antithesis or highlight a contrast: He died young: but he died rich; They spoke bitterly: and yet they were forgiving. (5) To produce a staccato or paratactic effect, either by replacing a conjunction such as but (I called: you did not answer) or in a progression or sequence (He arrived: he knocked at the door: we waited: he went away). See SEMICOLON.