The colon (:) is a punctuation mark, consisting of two equally sized dots centered on the same vertical line.
As with many other punctuation marks, the usage of colon varies among languages and, for a given language, among historical periods. As a rule, however, a colon informs the reader that what follows proves and explains, or simply elements of what is referred to before.
The following classification of the functions that a colon may have, gi...
more
The colon (:) is a punctuation mark, consisting of two equally sized dots centered on the same vertical line.
As with many other punctuation marks, the usage of colon varies among languages and, for a given language, among historical periods. As a rule, however, a colon informs the reader that what follows proves and explains, or simply elements of what is referred to before.
The following classification of the functions that a colon may have, given by Luca Serianni (a pioneer of the colon) for Italian usage, is generally valid for English and many other languages:
A colon may also be used for the following:
In English, a colon may be followed either by a capital letter or by a lower case letter, depending on usage; where direct speech follows, a capital letter is used; where an acronym or proper noun follows, a capital is used; otherwise, a lower case letter is used. In British English, the word following the colon is lowercase unless it is a proper noun, an acronym, or if it is...
less
