Colon and semicolon are confusing punctuation marks in English grammar and some time student get stuck to choose correct one. In this article student will learn about correct use of colon in a sentence.

We use colon between two clauses where second clause is explained by the first clause or in first clause we talk about list and in the second clause we elaborate that list. Moreover, we also use it for emphasis. The symbol for colon is (:).

When to use a colon in a sentence

We use colon when a character direct speech is narrated by someone and we place a colon after narrator and place narrated speech in inverted commas e.g.

• Teacher said: “Are you ready for the test?”

We use colon when second clause depends on a first clause for making complete sense e.g.

• I didn’t have time to get dressed: I was in a hurry.
• There is only one personality to whom I love too much: My mother.

We use colon to talk about a list of multiple items. In the first clause, we talk about item and in the second clause we describe items individually.

• I love many fruits: apple, banana, grapes, mangoes.
• I am studying three novels: Henry’s Diary, Serial-51, and Othello.

Sometime both punctuation marks, colon and semicolon, are used together in a single sentence as in sentence given below:

• There are four fruits on the table: one is an apple; second is an orange; third is an apricot; and last is a banana. 

Hope you have learned a lot about use of colon. Stay connected for happy learning.