EugeneLee  +  624440 Sun, 28 Dec 08 09:44 AM If you are wondering who i'm inviting, it's the usual - John, Mike and Andy. Should a dash or colon be used for the aforementioned sentence? Eugene EugeneLee Joined on Sun, Dec 28 2008 New Member 16 Colons, Punctuation, Sentences

	Mister Micawber  +  624516 Sun, 28 Dec 08 10:48 AM . Hello, Eugene-- and welcome to English Forums. Use the n-dash.  Your sentence is too casual for a colon.  And always capitalize the first person singular pronoun. . Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,825 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Pronouns, Colons, Punctuation, Sentences, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	EugeneLee  +  624553 Sun, 28 Dec 08 11:22 AM Hi Micawber, Thanks for the reply. How should i phrase the sentence to include the colon? If you are wondering who i'm inviting, It's the usual three : John, Mike and Andy. EugeneLee Colons, Punctuation, Sentences

	Mister Micawber  +  624554 Sun, 28 Dec 08 11:26 AM . Should you be curious, I am inviting three people: John, Mike and Andy. . Mister Micawber

	Grammar Geek  +  625021 Sun, 28 Dec 08 09:07 PM Just a quick word from the technical writer: The en-dasy is used bascially to mean "to" for duration or qauntities. I can't make them on my laptop, but things like April 7-9 would have the en-dash. So would something like "Somewhere about 2.5-2.7 million" The em-dash is used as we're talking about here. It has a variety of uses, and it does tend you make your writing less formal. I overuse them, I'm afraid. However, I do agree with Mr. M -- the dash is preferable to the colon in your original.   Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Colons, Punctuation, Speaking, Chat, Friendships

	Mister Micawber  +  625146 Mon, 29 Dec 08 12:21 AM .  Yes, sorry-- I meant 'm', not 'n'. . Mister Micawber

	Clive  +  625305 Mon, 29 Dec 08 03:39 AM Hi, Since you are being informal, you could also just say If you are wondering who I'm inviting, it's the usual. John, Mike and Andy. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,663 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo