• Colons:  presents specific details (:)

• Use a colon to introduce a list, a series, or a formal or long quotation.  Here are some examples:
• I gave him a grocery list of items I needed: strawberries, milk, bread, and pop.
• My granddad's favorite expression was repeated every morning: "God helps those who help themselves."  I always thought rebelliously that God helps the helpless.
• Use a colon to connect two independent clauses only when the first clause explains or illustrates the first. Here is an example:
• I prayed and prayed for an answer to my dilemma and finally got a response: they offered me a job.
• Use a colon after a clause to provide a one-word example:
• I worked and worked and only kept going because I knew what my reward would be: rest.
• Here are some other uses you might see for a colon:
• In a formal letter or a memo after a salutation (or greeting):
• Dear Mr. President:
• To: The President of the United States
• In a book title (separates the main title from the subtitle):
• Hell Hath No Fury: A Woman's Revenge
• To separate the chapter and verse of Bible verses or in bibliographic sources (in most formats)
• Genesis 1:1
• Blau, Susan, and Kathryn Burak.  Writing in the Works. 2^nd ed.  Boston:  Wadsworth, 2010.  Print.
• And of course you are familiar with its use in divisions of time:
• I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. when I'm teaching.

 

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