What are colons?
Do words that follow colons use lowercase or capital letters? Is there a right or wrong answer to the topic? Do you capitalize the first word after a colon? The debate of whether to use a capital letter after a colon has been contentious amongst grammarians. Style manuals and grammarians still argue about the correct answer to this question. Many consider it to be an issue of style as opposed to the structure or grammar proper. The key, and consensus, so it seems, is to remain consistent in writing and writing style. As a general rule, capitalize after a colon or don’t, but stick to one.
Colons are punctuation marks that look like two dots or periods stacked on top of each other (:) Colons point out to the reader that the information that follows the colon either expands, or adds emphasis on the information given before the colon.
[Colon] introduce clauses or phrases that serve to describe, amplify, or restate what precedes them. Often they are used to introduce a quote or a list that satisfies the previous statement.—Merriam-Webster.
When to use a colon?
Colons join two independent clauses together and highlight the connection between the clauses. Colons indicate that the second clause relates to or expounds upon information provided in the first clause or sentence. In British English, the first letter after a colon uses lowercase, unless what follows is a proper noun or acronym. American English grammar works differently; and instructs capitalization after colons in various cases.
This guide focuses on American English. As a general rule, colons do not follow a dependent clause or a sentence fragment. They almost always follow an independent clause or a complete sentence. What follows a colon is much more flexible than what can precede it:
- A complete sentence.
- Dependent clause.
- List.
- Quote and other forms of punctuation.
- vertical Lists
What do the style manuals say about capitalizing after a colon?
The style guides have varied views on colons and whether it’s correct to capitalize the first letter after a colon. Realistically, conform to whichever ‘house style’ is advised for the writing required. Style guides have found common ground on the following: when independent clauses precede colons, which follow with quotation marks, the first word within the quotation should be capitalized. Take a look:
Incorrect: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick begins with a classic line that’s continually referenced in culture and literature: “call me Ishmael.”
Correct: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick begins with a classic line that’s continually referenced in culture and literature: “Call me Ishmael.”
Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends capitalizing after a colon only when a colon introduces two or more sentences. When only one sentence follows a colon, do not capitalize the first word after the colon. Similarly, if a colon introduces a dependent clause, or an incomplete sentence, do not capitalize the first letter that follows the colon. Lastly, do not capitalize the first word after a colon when it introduces a list, or series of things/events. The Chicago Manual of Style Correct/Incorrect sentences examples:
Incorrect: The American flag has three colors: Red, white, and blue.
Correct: The American flag has three colors: red, white, and blue.
Incorrect: Sarah is a straight-A student that studied hard to achieve one thing: Admission to her dream college.
Correct: Sarah is a straight-A student that studied hard to achieve one thing: admission to her dream college.
Incorrect: She went to the grocery store to pick up everything she needed for dinner: Chicken, tomatoes, rice and lettuce.
Correct: She went to the grocery store to pick up everything she needed for dinner: chicken, tomatoes, rice and lettuce.
Incorrect: Laura was hooked and couldn’t seem to stop herself: she’d seen the first episode. she had no choice but to watch the rest.
Correct: Laura was hooked and couldn’t seem to stop herself: She’d seen the first episode. She had no choice but to watch the rest.
Rules to remember
- In the second example, the first word (after the colon), is not capitalized because there is only one clause that follows, not two clauses or more.
- In the first and third examples, the word introduces which is why the first word is not capitalized.
- In the fourth example, the first word after a colon is capitalized since two or more sentences follow.
Most style manuals recommend capitalizing to introduce body text, or excerpts from other writing. This is common in article writing or academic writing, which often require longer quotes or passages as supporting text. Colons are common in scriptwriting to indicate direct speech or a certain character’s line, and, in such cases, do not need quotation marks.
Colon Capitalization Exceptions
1. There are a few exceptions for cases where it’s recommended to use capitals after a colon: when the word after a colon introduces a proper noun; like a person’s name, or the name of a specific place, title, or quote. Take a look:
2. Incorrect: Frank couldn’t believe what he saw in front of his eyes: anna, his high-school sweetheart whom he hadn’t seen in years and had been looking for, was standing right there looking right back at it.
3. Correct: Frank couldn’t believe what he saw in front of his eyes: Anna, his high-school sweetheart whom he hadn’t seen in years and had been looking for, was standing right there looking right back at it.
4. Of course, in the English language, anytime a proper noun is mentioned in writing, use a capital letter. Remember that proper nouns refer to specific things, places and people; and are emphasized in English by the use of capital letters.
APA Publication Manual
APA style (Publication of the American Psychological Association) recommends capitalizing after a colon when it introduces a single complete sentence or independent clause. The AP Style (Associated Press), shares the same opinion as the APA, in this way: both recommend capitalization after colons when they introduce complete sentences. Whether it’s ironic to write about correct colon usage according to a certain style guide, while also not following their specific instruction in the process of said writing, is up for debate.
Example sentences using a colon:
Incorrect: Mary was gripped in her emotions: she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following her.
Correct: Mary was gripped in her emotions: She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following her.
In review
When it’s a matter of style, the best choice on whether to capitalize after a colon depends on the source being referenced. Whether it’s for school, university, book writing, book publishing or article writing, the best course of action is to find out the citation style that’s accepted or utilized, and follow the instruction that writing manual provides. It’s recommended in writing to use capitals after a colon in the following cases:
- When introducing a list, or a vertical list.
- When the word is a proper name, name of a place or thing, or title of a book, movie, music, etc
- To introduce a quote.
Keep reading!
Glossary
Definition of colon
Sources
- A Guide to Using Colons – Merriam-Webster
- Publication-manual-7th-edition-introduction.pdf- APA Style
- A Guide to Using Semicolons – Merriam-Webster
