The rules for capitalization will vary depending on which style guide you use. However, there are some general guidelines that are universal regarding capitalization after a colon:. In British English, the first letter following a colon is only capitalized if it the word is a proper noun or an acronym. In American English, however, there are several cases in which a letter should be capitalized after a colon. According to the Chicago Manual of Style , the first letter after a colon should be capitalized in the following cases:.
According to MLA format, the first letter following a colon should be capitalized if the colon introduces:. Download our Capitalization after Colons Cheat Sheet for quick reference so you can write more efficiently. Read more about how to use a colon and examples of when to use a semicolon so you can make your writing more clear and efficient. Which punctuation questions still have you stumped? Share them in the comments below! As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike.
Poets like the Indian Rabindranath Tagore. And filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin. Sentence a is correctly punctuated. You should not capitalize after semicolons since the semicolons are simply separating units in a series that contains commas.
Nor should you use periods, since the phrases are not complete sentences. The article the is unnecessary before invaluable. Since this is a very complicated sentence, you may also want to consider breaking it into two or more sentences. The first letters of each point do not need to be capitalized, especially since you have joined your points with semicolons.
The a following the fourth point is not necessary. Exception: First word after [a] colon is always uppercase in headlines. Is this grammatically correct for one sentence or is this meant to be two sentences? It looks like an error to us. Writers beware: some word processing programs automatically capitalize the first letter following a period, requiring that you manually change it back to lowercase. We agree that punctuation should increase readability and understanding of the written word, however, capitalization is not based on aesthetics.
If a complete sentence follows a colon, it is up to the writer to decide whether to capitalize the first word. Capitalizing a sentence after a colon is generally a judgment call; if what follows a colon is closely related to what precedes it, there is no need for a capital.
Oh well, I always capitalize the first letter after a semicolon, by reason that the semicolon has a full stop in its symbol. My feeling is that if you cannot capitalize after a semicolon without changing the sense, then a colon would have done anyway! You slow down, then stop at the end of the second sentence.
When listing points 1 I like your website 2 Grammar is very tricky 3 I wish I would have paid more attention in my grammar class. We do not see a colon in your example. We assume there will be an introductory sentence that includes a colon. If only one sentence follows the colon, it is often not necessary to capitalize the first word of the new sentence.
Your list contains more than one sentence. Therefore, capitalize the first word and end each sentence with appropriate ending punctuation. We recommend using a space after the parenthesis in each point.
Example: I came to some conclusions after visiting your website today: 1 I like your website. In a title for example, can you use the colon this way? Poetry and the development of oral fluency: a study using poetry in EFL instruction. Reading the rules it indicated to capitalize the first letter after the colon.
Or the one I am not sure that can be used is this way. The rules in this post apply to sentences. Your example is a title, not a sentence. The colon is used to separate the main title from the subtitle. If the title belongs to a book, it should be italicized. If it is an unpublished work or an article, use quotation marks.
Garlic is NOT used generously in Italian dishes in Italy; it is used generously in supposedly Italian-looking dishes across the world all right, admit that sometimes Italian restaurants catering to foreigners submit to their expectations. We Italians make a very sparing use of garlic, and actually most people avoid it like the pest because of the smell it leaves on you.
Bob bring me that book? Would it look like this…. Bob, Bring me that book? Indicate the kind of orientation an individual requires to adjust with the process of social change: A Progressive B Conformist C Traditionalist D Confrontationist. Learning refers to: A change in belief system B change in aptitude C change in behaviour D change in retention. On the above two questions after the colon, serial numbers are in the way; which one would be better Capitalising or in lowercase??
The Chicago Manual of Style gives the following advice regarding vertical lists containing multiple-choice questions:. In this way, multiple-choice tests are styled much like unnumbered vertical lists.
If the question is a complete sentence following a colon, it is up to the writer to decide whether to capitalize the first word. Is it proper to capitalize the first letter for the definition, or is it rather a part of an ongoing list?
A-weighted decibels: dBA are an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear. Many regulatory noise limits are specified in terms of dBA, based on the belief that dBA is better correlated with the relative risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Accident: the National Safety Council defines an Accident as an undesired event that results in personal injury or property damage. The examples you sent could use some tightening up. In the first, why is dBA in parentheses after the colon?
We suggest either putting it before the colon, removing the parentheses, or repeating the abbreviation as follows A-weighted decibels dBA : dBA are an expression of … Also, we notice that your first two definitions are complete sentences and the last one is not. We suggest you choose a method and remain consistent throughout the document. In a sentence that includes a pause in the middle followed by … Is the word following the … capitalized or lower case?
You are referring to an ellipsis. Unless the word following the ellipsis is a proper noun, it is not capitalized. Please see our rules for ellipses and our post Ellipsis Marks for more information. To leave options to writers is to leave confusion to learners. If the case is to give freedom to the writer, then why not to have freedom in all grammatical structures? There are several areas in English grammar in which there is no absolute rule.
In those cases we recommend that the writer exercise consistency. Thus you have demonstrated judgment in your own writing. Hello Guys, please for this phrase, am I supposed to capitalise World class or not Local expertise:world-class solutions or Local expertise: World-class solutions. Is it correct to place a comma in front of a verb that precedes a complete thought?
The truth is, he is very tall. Please see our reply in the post Commas, Part 6. If each point is a complete sentence, capitalize the first word and end the sentence with appropriate ending punctuation. Otherwise, there are no hard and fast rules, except be consistent.
Please see our Rules for Capitalization. I am not a native in English, and for a long time I thought capitalization after a colon : was mandatory because I was or I thought I was taught that it is the correct way of capitalization, but I guess I was wrong for the whole time.
Well, my lament aside, here is my question:. I am currently writing a medical report that consists of something like this in the middle of other things , for example:. Where the items before the colons are specific markers, should I capitalize the sentence fragments or should I not? Consider the examples below:.
The Chicago Manual of Style has a slightly different perspective on whether to capitalize after colons. In their view, the word following a colon should be capitalized only if there are two explanatory sentences following the colon.
Look at the examples below:. Maggie wears a brimmed cap at all times: Strong light often gives her a headache. Maggie wears a brimmed cap at all times: strong light often gives her a headache.
She also likes the way it looks. Both style manuals agree on one thing, though.
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