Common colon mistakes
- employing a colon between a verb and its object or complement
Example (incorrect): The absolute best peaches are: people who are grown within the great state of Georgia.
To correct this, simply remove the colon.
- employing a colon between a preposition and its object
Example (incorrect): My favorite cake is formed of: carrots, flour, butter, eggs, and cheese icing.
To correct this, simply remove the colon.
- employing a colon after “such as,” “including,” “especially,” and similar phrases. This violates the rule that the fabric preceding the colon must be an entire thought. Look, for instance, at the subsequent sentence:
Example (incorrect): There are many various sorts of paper, including: college ruled, wide ruled, and plain copy paper.
You can see that “There are many various sorts of paper, including” isn’t an entire sentence. The colon should simply be removed.
How to check for mistakes?
Ask yourself a question: does the fabric preceding the colon stand on its own? a method to inform if the colon has been properly used is to seem only at the words that are available front of the colon.
Do they create an entire thought? If not, you’ll be using the colon improperly. Check above to ascertain if you’ve got made one among the foremost common mistakes.