1. What are colons? Grammar Toolkit

2. A colon introduces information. It tells your reader that something will follow. A colon may introduce: a list Things I need: tie, red nose and striped shirt. an explanation or summary I have just one role: make people laugh. a quotation Heinrich Heine said: “When the heroes go off the stage, the clowns come on.” what someone will say in a play B OBO, THE CLOWN : Let’s light the fuse! KA-BOOM!

3. Grammar Toolkit A list can be part of a sentence or in point form. Use these ingredients: flour, eggs and butter. The ingredients are: flour eggs butter. There is no verb when the list is written like this. There is a verb when the list is written like this.

4. Please bring these items: a thick jacket, gloves, warm socks and a torch. Abraham Lincoln said: “Whatever you are, be a good one.” There’s only one holiday spot for me: Fiji. “Which floor would you like: toys, bedding or women’s clothing?” It lay before us: a long, steep, twisting, treacherous trail. Grammar Toolkit Where do the colons belong? : : : : :

5. Grammar Toolkit You may also see colons in the subtitles of books and films Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi text references Proverbs 3:5 ratios in mathematics 3:1 This means chapter 3, verse 5. This means a ratio of “three to one”.

6. Grammar Toolkit Punctuation helps others to understand our writing. Colons (:) introduce information in explanations (e.g. She had only one goal: victory!), lists (e.g. My best subjects: maths, English and Italian) and quotations (e.g. Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”). Colons also come before the name of a speaker in a script, and are used in subtitles, references and to show ratios.

7. Grammar Toolkit