Colon


Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Insert only one space after the colon.

  • She gave us her promise: The company will make good all the losses.
  • BUT That evening we had three goals: to eat dinner, discuss the day’s work, and get to bed before 2:00 a.m.

Unnecessary colons. The words preceding a colon should form a complete sentence. If you find yourself putting a colon after such as or a verb, it is probably incorrect. (Hint: Try reading your sentence out loud and see how silly it sounds to come to a complete stop after such as.)