Grammar Snacks: Know Your Colon

Remember “Super Colon Blow”? Perhaps you washed down a bowlful this morning with a tall drink of Metamucil. Indeed, high-fiber foods and the colon go hand-in-hand. The same is true of Grammar Snacks and the colon [:]. If we’re to be regular, well-functioning writers, we must pay special attention to our colon health. And judging by what I’ve seen out there, we could all do a better job of looking after our colons.

Note: Instead of placing the colon in parentheses, I’m putting it in brackets—Microsoft Word automatically converts a parentheses and colon into the dreaded smiley-face emoticon. Remember: the colon [:] serves a much higher purpose than providing the eyes of an emoticon.

While we all know what a colon looks like, let’s do a quick review of the punctuation mark’s functions. The Chicago Manual of Style offers a decent explanation: “A colon introduces an element or a series of elements illustrating or amplifying what has preceded the colon.” (Notice the use of the colon in that sentence?) “Between independent clauses it functions much like a semicolon, though more strongly emphasizing sequence.” (We’ll probe the semicolon [;] in the next Grammar Snack.) Finally, “The colon may be used instead of a period to introduce a series of related sentences.”

Simple enough, right? Colon trouble typically occurs with capitalization. It seems we don’t know when the first letter of the first word after a colon is uppercase or lowercase. Here’s the rule: capitalize the first word following the colon when it is a proper noun or name, begins a quote, introduces a speech in dialogue or an extract, or sets up two or more sentences. Otherwise, the first letter succeeding a colon is lowercase.

And now, snackers, sink your teeth into these tasty examples of good colon usage:

• Enduring painful abdominal cramps following his morning bowl of Super Colon Blow, Seymour had only one thing on his mind: the nearest bathroom. (Emphasizing sequence)
• To whip up an electrifying batch of homemade methamphetamine, you need the following ingredients: ephedrine, gasoline, ammonia, red phosphorous, acetone, drain cleaner, ether, benzene, battery acid, muriatic acid, toluene (found in brake cleaner), and more. (Series of elements)
• To come back from cancer and return to professional cycling, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong gave it his all: He ate right. He trained hard. And he may or may not have used an illegal blood booster called erythropoietin (EPO). (Capitalization for a series of related sentences)
• Lisa: You can’t wear that to the party. It’s repulsive.
  John: What, you don’t like my birthday suit? (Introducing dialogue)

Bonus Snack

In the “Note” portion of the first paragraph, you’ll notice the first word following the colon after “Note” is capitalized, while the one succeeding the colon after “Remember” is not. Do you know why?

Next time: the semicolon (a.k.a. the wink in an emoticon).