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Course: Grammar > Unit 7
Lesson 1: Introduction to colonsThe colon as a separator
Google ClassroomThe colon can separate parts of a title, citations of religious texts, and the hour and minutes in the time of day. Paige explains how!
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Don't we use colons in ratios too? What is the colon's job when it's in the ratio?(21 votes)
Colons in ratios are a mathematical sign there. They mean what they mean in math. In language, colons mean what they mean in language. These are two different uses of the same configuration of dots on a page. Do not confuse one use with the other.(3 votes)
Is the colon for time like, 100% a colon? I know this question may not make sense but I personally have never viewed it as a colon, but something different (I don't know why).(17 votes)
That is an excellent question (and I've given you an upvote for it).
Let's say that the colon is the colon, whether it is used in a sentence, in a time signarure, in a logical syllogism, or in a ratio.
BUT, it does different things in each kind of use. Accept it as a separator when used in sentences (which is what is introduced in the grammar course), but stay on guard that, in math, horology or logic, it may have a different use.(10 votes)
why did david leave(6 votes)- When he finished making all of the videos in the course by the end of 2016, he moved on to other projects at and for Khan Academy. He's still around, but this course is done.(10 votes)
does Paige have her own chanel thing on hear(7 votes)
No, just Khan Academy videos. She should have one though.(6 votes)
- do you use colons in ratios(5 votes)
- Colons in ratios are a mathematical sign there. They mean what they mean in math. In language, colons mean what they mean in language. These are two different uses of the same configuration of dots on a page. Do not confuse one use with the other.(8 votes)
Where did David go?(7 votes)- David finished making these videos in 2016. He went on to other things at Khan Academy and later moved to the opposite coast of the United States. Paige Finch was a university student in the summer of 2016 who, in the process of learning how to make videos, made several WITH David, and a few on her own. Now they are each several years older than the persons whose voices we hear on the video programs. Isn't it nice to still be able to hear what they sounded like so many years ago?(4 votes)
Hello everyone!
So, I am having a trouble with what I saw in my study book and what I read in the Internet and previously knew:
My study book says that colons must be after independent clauses only. This means - according to my book - that "... are the following:" is incorrect, as a sentence with that part can't stand alone as an independent clause.
I searched this in the Internet and I got inconclusive answers: some say it isn't incorrect, while others just give unhelpful information.
Does any of you know whether this is true or not?
Do colons must be preceded by independent clauses? Is "... are the following:" correct?
Thanks for any help,(6 votes)- Should such a question appear on your exam, and should the person or computer that scores the exam mark it as incorrect, your research gives you ground to dispute the adjudication. But, the matter will not likely come up in a middle or high-school exam. It seems more applicable to a course in contracts when you're in law school, and for that, you'll have a style book.
Go bravely into that exam, sure of yourself, and convinced that you don't need to score 100%.(5 votes)
- what happend to david(5 votes)
- He made these videos between 2014 and 2016. As to what happened to him, I guess he got older.(4 votes)
- David Alexander, you have influenced me to answer peoples questions and reply to them with the correct answers. I will always do this as you have influenced me. Though I have one question. Why do you do this? For the sake of yourself or the sake of others?
Thanks and I hope you get to see this comment and reply.
😀(3 votes)- I do this for several reasons:
1) I assume that good questions, honestly posted, represent people who are hoping for responses, and I imagine the disappointment in those who get nothing back after the effort to formulate clear questions.
2) I want online learning to work. When questions go out and nothing comes back, online learning fails.
3) I'm old and have too much time on my hands.
4) I want good answers out there, because there are too many people who respond with something like, "idk, maybe martians." and the like.
5) Perhaps part of my motivation is based on my religious faith.(7 votes)
Huh? what does this mean?(4 votes)- It seems to mean that, among the many functions of the punctuation mark known as a colon, one such function is to separate words or ideas in a list.
Does that help?(4 votes)
Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Hello grammarians. So today we're gonna talk
about third and final function of the colon. So this final function of the
colon is that it can be used as a separator. So it might sound like we're talking about the comma again, right? The comma separates
elements of a sentence. But the colon does it in
kind of a different way. So, let's look at some examples. So one common use of
the colon as a separator is in titles. So you can have two separate
parts of the title, or like a title and a subtitle
for a book or a movie or a TV show. And there will be a colon in between them. We can have something like
Bear Man: Adventures in Alaska. Another common use of the
colon as a separator is in citations from a book or a poem, and pretty often the Bible. For example, we can use
it to separate the number of a Bible chapter from
the number of the verse. If we want to reference First
Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse four, we can write it like One Corinthians 13 colon four. Finally, we can use the
colon to separate the hour from the minutes in the time of day. If I want to tell someone what time it is, I can say it is now ten-oh-nine AM. And between the ten, which
is the hour of the day, and oh-nine, which is the
minutes, we put a colon. So that's how the colon
works as a separator. We can use it in titles,
citations, and times. You can learn anything. Paige out.