Guest  +  14123 Tue, 25 Nov 03 05:07 PM Would this sentence be a correct use of a colon? The three things I like to do on vacation are: swim in the ocean, shop at the mall, and play at the amusement park. My English book says never a colon after a verb, but I was at a reading conference just last week and the presenter teaches a colon in the above example. Is this right or not? Guest Verbs, Colons

	ryan smith  +  14190 Wed, 26 Nov 03 03:26 AM There is a mistake. Keep in mind that the sentence has to make sense with the colon removed and one element of the list. Corrections are below in CAPS: "The ONE thing I like to do on vacation IS swimING in the ocean." So, if we ignore the not-after-a-verb rule, your sentence should be: "...vacation are: swimming..., shopping..., and playing..." Since the above sentence makes perfect sense WITHOUT the colon, why use it? I've actually never heard of the rule that states you can't put a colon after a verb. However, if you treat the colon like an equals sign "=", then you don't need to remember such rules. "I went: to the doctor's office, to the supermarket, and home." (Sounds funny and violates the verb rule). "I went to three places: the doctor's office, the supermarket, and home." (Sound better. Three places = the doctor's office, the supermarket, and home). Finally, how I would write your sentence: "The three things I like to do on vacation are swimming in the ocean, shopping at the mall, and playing at the amusement park. " ryan smith Joined on Tue, Sep 9 2003 CLASSIFIED Full Member 199 Verbs, Colons

	advoca  +  14203 Wed, 26 Nov 03 07:55 AM Forgive me jumping in. The colon has only one important function: it indicates that what follows it is an explanation or elaboration or what precedes it. What the precedes the colon must be a complete sentence. What follows it may be a sentence, a phrase, a list, or even a single word. Here are some examples. Only four contenders remain: Sampras, Agassi, Rafter and Henman. We propose the creation of a new post: School Executive Officer. Africa is facing a terrifying problem: AIDS. The situation is clear: if you have unprotected sex with a stranger, you risk AIDS. A colon should not interrupt a sentence that flows smoothly without it. Therefore, it is wrong to write, "The three things I like to do on vacation are: swim in the ocean, shop at the mall, and play at the amusement park." The colon is unnecessary. A colon should never be used after the preposition 'like'. No colon should follow the word 'including.' advoca Joined on Fri, Oct 10 2003 New Member 28 Prepositions, Colons