#12 · Colon before a list? Finish the sentence first.
The question. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
The survival kit ______ a map, a compass, and a whistle.
- includes:
- includes
- includes;
- includes—
The rule. To introduce a list, a colon needs a complete sentence before it. To check, cover everything after the colon and read what's left.
Use it. Cover the list and you're left with "The survival kit includes." Includes what? That isn't a complete sentence, so a colon can't go there. Includes needs the list to complete the sentence, with no punctuation in between. The answer is B: "The survival kit includes a map, a compass, and a whistle."
The fix: finish the sentence, then add the colon
To use a colon, finish the sentence first, for example with three items:
The survival kit includes three items: a map, a compass, and a whistle.
Cover the list: "The survival kit includes three items." That's a complete sentence, and the list explains what the three items are, so the colon works.
The takeaway: before a colon, finish the sentence. If the words before it can't stand on their own, the colon doesn't belong.