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A colon is a punctuation mark. It looks like this :
A colon is often used at the beginning of a list of bullet points - like on a shopping list!
We need: . apples . pears . bananas . oranges . kiwi fruit |
It can also be used in some other types of list, but not all lists.
The first of the following sentences needs a colon, but the second does not.
These are the people I am inviting to my party: Kate, Joe, Adil, Dwayne and Jamila.
I am inviting Kate, Joe, Adil, Dwayne and Jamila to my party.
So how can we decide whether we need a colon or not?
If the section of the sentence before the colon makes sense on its own, then we use a colon.
'These are the people I am inviting to my party' makes sense on its own.
If it doesn't make sense on its own, we don't use a colon.
'I am inviting' does not make sense on its own.
Let's see if we can put this into practice!
Question
/ 10Mrs Morris
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Teacher explanation