Colon after on topic. Colon: where, when and why to put a colon. Colon vs dash

Colon

§ 159. A colon is placed before the listing that ends the sentence:

1. If the enumeration is preceded by a generalizing word (and often, in addition, other words for example, somehow*, namely ), For example:

Cossacks rose from everywhere: from Chigirin, from Pereyaslav, from Baturin, from Glukhov, from the lower side of the Dnieper and from all its upper reaches and islands.

Gogol

Familiar details appeared: deer antlers, shelves with books, a mirror, a stove with an air vent that should have been repaired long ago, my father’s sofa, a large table, an open book on the table, a broken ashtray, a notebook with his handwriting.

L. Tolstoy

Large fish fight sharply, such as: pike, catfish, asp, pike perch*.

S. Aksakov

2. If there is no generalizing word before the listing, but it is necessary to warn the reader that some kind of list follows, for example:

From under the hay one could see a samovar, a tub of ice cream, and some other attractive bundles and boxes.

§ 161. A colon is placed after a sentence, followed by one or more sentences not connected to the first by means of conjunctions and containing:

a) clarification or disclosure of the content of what is said in the first sentence, for example:

I was not mistaken: the old man did not refuse the offered glass.

Pushkin

Moreover, the worries of her large family constantly tormented her: either the feeding of the infant did not go well, then the nanny left, then, as now, one of the children fell ill.

L. Tolstoy

Here a rather interesting picture opened up: a wide hut, the roof of which rested on two completed pillars, was full of people.

Lermontov

b) the basis, the reason for what is said in the first sentence, for example:

You won’t be able to catch up with the crazy troika: the horses are well-fed, strong, and lively.

Nekrasov

It was not for nothing that the Greek gods recognized the irresistible power of fate over themselves: fate was that dark boundary beyond which the consciousness of the ancients did not cross.

Belinsky

§ 162. A colon is placed between two sentences not connected by conjunctions if the first sentence contains verbs such as see, look, hear, know, feel etc., a warning is given that what will follow is a statement of some fact or some description, for example:

And then the beacon keeper and the Kyrgyz assistant see: two boats are floating along the river.

A. N. Tolstoy

I crawled through the thick grass along the ravine, I saw: the forest had ended, several Cossacks were leaving it into a clearing, and then my Karagöz jumped out straight to them...

Lermontov

Finally, we climbed Mount Gud, stopped and looked back: a gray cloud hung on it, and its cold breath threatened a nearby storm...

Lermontov

I know: in your heart there is both pride and direct honor.

Pushkin

Pavel feels that someone's fingers are touching his arm above the elbow.

N. Ostrovsky

But (without a hint of warning):

I hear the earth shake.

Nekrasov

§ 163. A colon is placed after a sentence introducing direct speech, in particular a direct question or exclamation, for example:

They were silent for two minutes, but Onegin approached her and said: “You wrote to me, don’t deny it.”

Pushkin

At the end of the work, Peter asked Ibrahim: “Do you like the girl with whom you danced the minuet at the last assembly?”

Pushkin

And I thought: “What a heavy and lazy fellow he is!”

Chekhov

Note. The group of sentences that contain direct speech should be distinguished from complex sentences with a subordinate clause: a comma is placed before the subordinate clause, as usual, and at the end of it - a sign required by the nature of the entire complex sentence, for example:

I thought about what a heavy and lazy fellow he was.

I tried to remember where I was on this day exactly a year ago.

Will he again remind you of what happened a year ago?

How hard it is to remember what happened on that terrible day!

* Comment from the portal editors

Hyphenated spelling of a compound conjunction somehowO (meaning "namely") should be considered obsolete. In the code “Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation. Complete academic reference book" (edited by V.V. Lopatin. M., 2006 and subsequent editions) in § 142 union something like that included in the list of function words that are written separately.

Even in the “Dictionary of the Russian Language” by S.I. Ozhegov, in the article AS it was stated: “Somehow - the same as namely. All enterprises, such as construction, textile, printing, are working normally».

Separate writing of a compound conjunction like t O allows you to distinguish it in writing from a pronominal adverb To A Who.

For the past seven years, I have been working at the Budennovsky branch of the Poisk Center for Gifted Children as a methodologist in the Russian language department and at the same time as a teacher of the Russian language. Teaching a language at such a Center is both an art and a science. This is not a skill that, once mastered, a teacher can stop improving. It is necessary to expand your professional competence every day, and conduct classes in such a way as to equip children not only with knowledge and skills (the importance of which cannot be disputed!), but also to arouse in children sincere interest, genuine passion and a creative attitude towards reality.

The teaching of the Russian language from grades 5 to 11 is based on the textbooks “Russian Language” edited by Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor S.I. Lvova. In accordance with the program of this complex, students have at their disposal reference books on the Russian language, diagrams and tables on spelling and punctuation, a schoolchild’s etymological dictionary, a dictionary “Let’s speak correctly”, a book “Russian Speech Miracles”. But, along with using ready-made teaching aids and textbooks, I am developing my own Russian language courses for students aged 14-17.

For the Festival of Pedagogical Ideas “Open Lesson” 2011-2012, I offer a lesson from the course "Punctuation marks. Difficulties of Russian punctuation” on the topic "Colon. The use of colons in different syntactic constructions”, designed for 2 hours. This is the seventh lesson in this course in 9th grade. The main goal of this course is to cover the most difficult and important issues of punctuation, both theoretically and practically. The classes cover the basics of Russian punctuation and the purpose of punctuation marks. The study of punctograms is in organic connection with the study of syntax and speech development. A special role is given to observing intonation. Attention is paid to particularly complex punctuation rules and their practical implementation in texts.

The lesson is based on the technology of critical thinking, which I have been using for many years in almost every lesson at the Center for Gifted Children.

Lesson type: learning new material based on previously learned material.

Type of lesson: research - explanatory.

Lesson Plan

Theoretical questions. Colon.
Express – question.
Theoretical block. Tasks.
Problem situation No. 1.
Have a good rest!
Problem situation No. 2.
Theoretical block. Tasks.
Diagnostic test.
Flash questions.
Theoretical block. Tasks.
Test.

The purpose of the lesson: to generalize, expand and systematize information about the placement of the colon in various syntactic constructions.

Progress of the lesson

It’s night in my huge city.
I’m leaving the sleepy house - away.
And people think: wife, daughter, -
But I remembered one thing: night.

M. Tsvetaeva

Hello, young literature expert!

You probably guessed, reading the lines of M. Tsvetaeva’s poem, that the objects of our further linguistic research will be such punctuation marks as colons and dashes.

Today we will talk about the colon. The thing is that everyone (at least once in their life) made mistakes associated with ignorance of the placement of this punctuation mark. What do you know about the colon?

I suggest you remember the definition.

A colon is a ____________ sign in the form of two _________ (:) located one above the other, used to indicate that the part of the text after it is connected by ________, explanatory, etc. semantic relations with the part of the text before it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer: A colon is a punctuation mark in the form of two dots (:) located one above the other, used to indicate that the part of the text after it is connected by causal, explanatory, etc. semantic relations with the part of the text before it.

A little about the colon

It is known that the ancient Greek philosopher Plato sometimes ended entire sections of a book with a colon.

Did you know that in most languages a colon is placed immediately after a word and requires a space after itself; in some (for example, in French writing) it is separated (separated by a narrow, unbroken space) from the previous word.

And in Church Slavonic writing, the colon as a whole was equivalent to the Russian semicolon, but is also used in the functions of ellipsis and even a period at the end of abbreviations.

The colon, as a sign of abbreviation, was generally inherent in old European writings (in the Russian language it was like this until the middle of the 19th century). Among modern languages, this colon function is preserved in Swedish and Finnish, even in the middle of a word: H:ki (Helsinki).

My young friend, you know that a colon is placed in different syntactic constructions.

Task 1. Express – question.

The colon is placed:

1) in a simple sentence after a generalizing word before homogeneous members of the sentence;
2) in a simple sentence after the introductory word, which comes after the generalizing word, before homogeneous members of the sentence;
3) in a simple sentence before a generalizing word, if it comes after homogeneous members of the sentence;
4) in a non-union complex sentence with the meaning of reason;
5) in a non-union complex sentence with the meaning of a condition;
6) in a non-union complex sentence with the meaning of explanation.

___________________

Answer: 1,2,4,6

You have already completed the first task. To complete the rest, let's go on a journey through the pages of Knowledge.

Page one.

Let's consider the rules for using colons in simple sentences with generalizing words with homogeneous members of the sentence.

Of course, you know that generalizing are words or phrases that act as a member of a sentence, which serves as a more general designation of the homogeneous members that are attached to it.

Let's repeat punctuation for generalizing words and homogeneous members of a sentence.

1. If homogeneous members are preceded by a generalizing word or phrase, then a colon is placed in front of it, for example: Signs of autumn are associated with everything: with the color of the sky, with dew and fog, with the cry of birds and the brightness of the starry sky (K. Paustovsky).

2. If after the generalizing word (phrase) there are words somehow, namely, for example, then a comma is placed before them, and a colon after them, for example: Khor understood reality, that is: he settled down, saved up some money, got along with the master and with other authorities (I. Turgenev).

Let's work on the assignments and try to resolve some problems.

Exercise 1.

Indicate a sentence with a generalizing word.

The softest and most touching poems, books and paintings were written about autumn.
Everything around sparkled, shimmered, and sparkled in the sun.
The Azov Sea is home to pike perch and bream, mackerel and anchovy.
Horse breeds based on their use can be divided into three groups: riding, light draft and heavy draft.

Books, music, painting teach us to understand beauty.

Task 2.

Indicate a sentence that does not contain a generalizing word.

The letters they write are various, tearful, painful, sometimes beautiful, more often useless.

Dogs, horses, chickens are all wet, sad, timid.

The sailor met many people, sometimes loud and mocking, sometimes timid and hospitable, sometimes pugnacious and hot-tempered, but no one could help him find the precious pouch.

Vanya recognized old places: abandoned forest roads that led into aspen thickets, clearings overgrown with heather, immortelle and spike grass, and ant trails in the red grainy sand.

Granite, iron, wood, harbor pavement, ships and people all breathe with the powerful sounds of a passionate hymn to Mercury.

Task 3.

Indicate a sentence that does not contain a colon.

Through the milky blue haze, everything around the forest, rocks, islands was dimly blue, everything was dim, ghostly.

In all the rooms in the servant's room, in the hall, in the living room it is cool and gloomy, this is because the house is surrounded by a garden, and the upper glass of the windows is colored.

All these people were sailors of different nations, fishermen, stokers, cheerful cabin boys, port thieves, machinists, workers, boatmen, loaders, divers, smugglers - they were all young, healthy and saturated with the strong smell of the sea and fish.

The noise from the flight of a night bird, the falling of snow from branch to branch, the rustling of a dried blade of grass swaying by the light breath of a weak breeze - all this together could not disturb the silence that reigned in nature.

All these sounds and smells, clouds and people were strangely beautiful and sad, it seemed like the beginning of a fairy tale,

Problem situation #1

From under the hay one could see a samovar, a tub of ice cream and some other attractive bundles and boxes (L.N. Tolstoy).

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer: From under the hay one could see: a samovar, a tub of ice cream and some other attractive bundles and boxes (L.N. Tolstoy).

Do you know why a colon is added to homogeneous parts of a sentence without a generalizing word?

My friend, a colon is also used when it is necessary to warn the reader that what follows is a list.

Have a good rest!

Do you know that this sign was used very often in the 18th century:

1) when contrasting, for example: We understand one thing clearly and in detail: although we clearly imagine others in our minds, we cannot depict them in detail (M. Lomonosov);

2) before a subordinating conjunction that begins a subordinate clause, for example: With this, the one who enriches himself will not offend anyone: because he acquires for himself an inexhaustible and common treasure (M. Lomonosov)

3) before an adversative conjunction, for example: The test of nature is difficult, Listeners: however pleasant, useful, holy (M. Lomonosov)

4) before the connecting clause, for example: It is known in Italy that recently it happened that thunderclaps sometimes came out of the cellars: and for this reason the cause of them, completely different from Electrical force, was assigned (M. Lomonosov)

It can be noted that the functions of this sign were formulated in a complex and contradictory manner. The process, as we see, was long, but definite - the sign steadily progressed through the accumulation of explanatory significance. In this sense, it is interesting to pay attention, for example, to the fact that in the works of M.V. Lomonosov quite often the colon is at the junction of the main part of the sentence and subordinate causal clauses (with causal conjunctions). From a modern point of view, this sign is superfluous, since the meaning of the cause is conveyed lexically - by causal conjunctions.

And gradually, having gained a foothold in this position, the sign began to be associated with the meaning of reason, justification. That is why, already in a non-union sentence, it seemed to take on a causal meaning and became a meaningfully significant sign.

The explanatory function of the colon is firmly preserved, however, as we will see later, a young lover of literature, this sign begins to lose some (not all and not always!) positions and give way to another sign - the dash.

This is precisely the peculiarity of the fate of the colon: with a clear function, the loss of positions where this function is manifested.

Problem situation No. 2

Rewrite the sentence and find the place for the colon!

And, having done this, he felt that the result was the desired one, that he was touched and she was touched (L. Tolstoy).

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer: And, having done this, I felt that the result was the desired one: that he was touched and she was touched (L. Tolstoy)

Just now you learned that a colon is placed before a subordinating conjunction in those rare cases when the preceding main clause contains a special warning about subsequent clarification (at this point there is a long pause and you can insert the words namely).

Page two

About the rules for using colons in simple sentences with direct speech.

My friend! Study the table carefully and understand the placement of punctuation marks in sentences with direct speech. Fill in the table with your examples.

If everything worked out for you, then you, of course, noticed that after the words of the author, located before direct speech, a colon is placed; the author's remark coming after direct speech is written with a small letter.

Attention! Question: does this always happen?

That's right, not always. If the author’s words do not contain designations of speech, thoughts, facial expressions and movements or feelings of the speaker and do not allow the insertion of verbs of speech after themselves, then after the author’s words a dot is placed before direct speech, and in cases where the author’s remark comes after direct speech, a capital letter is used . By the way, only under this condition can there be a dot before the dash.

He looked with a grin (and said):

- So I believed you!

I'm tired of the constant arguing.

- Leave me alone!

Task 4. Find and correct errors in the placement of punctuation marks that we have introduced into the text.

1. You spoke, and I thought - “What a strong machine the human body is!”

_____________________________________________________________________

Answer: There should be a colon in this sentence, not a dash before direct speech.

2. She said:

“It was probably a wonderful custom in the old days.” Now it is going out of fashion even in palaces.

And, to smooth out the harshness, she added, smiling

– However, palaces also seem to be going out of fashion.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Find the “third extra” sentence and explain your choice, for example: 1a, the remarks of different persons are next to each other, and in the other two sentences the remarks are separated by the words of the author. There are no punctuation marks.

1. ___________________________________________________________________

a) I think I stayed too long, he said with an embarrassed smile.
b) Why do you think that this is nonsense? Gavrilov asked with his quick grin, not at all offended.
c) Nikolai Ivanovich read the card again and asked what you actually want.

2. ___________________________________________________________________

a) The paramedic respectfully objected Dmitry Vasilyevich yes, you go to sleep.
b) Why did you say that? Sonya asked with a grin.
c) Once, in a moment of frankness, Vasily Gorlov told me By God, Dmitry Vasilyevich, I loved you so much.

Answer: 2b, direct speech comes before the words of the author, in the other two - vice versa.

3. ___________________________________________________________________

a) Tokarev remembered how Tanya asked “It won’t be hard for you” and burst out laughing.
b) Well, goodbye, gentlemen, he said, extending his wide hand to Natasha and Daev. I wish you all the best.
c) It’s a sin to complain about time, Daev seriously objected, time is good and extremely interesting.

4. ___________________________________________________________________

a) Sit on a chair and be silent, he furiously shouted so that I don’t hear your voice anymore.
b) Alexandra Mikhailovna said, breathless, Tanya, listen, don’t be afraid, I’ll arrange everything for you. Don’t be afraid, she repeated joyfully.
c) She repeated, sobbing, “Lord, Lord,” and without looking away, she looked at Tanya.

Answer: 4a, direct speech is interrupted by the words of the author, in the other two - vice versa.

5. ___________________________________________________________________

a) Suddenly, with his quick grin, the painter said loudly, “I think that you are talking about this incorrectly!” This is what the foundry worker asked about.
b) The painter decisively cut him off. You can’t live in the city. Don’t mess around where you don’t belong. Go to the village and start farming. Why are you going to manage things? - exclaimed the cab driver.
c) Everyone is calling you, shouting, with a respectful smile he turned to Osokin. Let me not go, Osokin said beggingly.

Answer: 5c, in sentences with direct speech, the remarks of different persons are separated by the words of the author; in the rest, replicas of different persons stand side by side.

6. ___________________________________________________________________

a) Will your fellow countryman be sympathetic to you? asked the guy in the blouse. The fellow countryman muttered to the man without looking at the guy and sat down.
b) Varvara Vasilievna said Timofey Stepanovich, your tea is completely cold. Let me pour you some fresh one. But now I’ll finish this Baluev hastily finished his tea and handed the glass to Varvara Vasilievna.
c) Where did Tanya realize Varvara Vasilievna? Sergei chuckled. She went with the craftsman. (According to V. Veresaev).

Answer: 6b, replicas of different persons stand side by side, in the other two replicas are separated by the words of the author.

Page three

Test your knowledge of placing colons in different syntactic constructions by answering quick questions.

Question 1. Give the correct explanation for placing a colon in a sentence.

Throughout the morning, Olenin was completely immersed in arithmetic calculations: how many miles had he traveled, how many remained to the first station, how many to the first city.

1) The second part of a non-union complex sentence reveals the content of the first part.

2) Several parts of a non-union complex sentence reveal the content of the first part.

3) Subordinate parts of a complex sentence explain the content of the first part.

4) The generalizing word comes before homogeneous members.

Question 2. How to explain the placement of the colon in this sentence?

Don’t dig holes for others: you’ll fall into them yourself.

1) The second part of a non-union complex sentence indicates the reason for what is said in the first part.
2) The second part of a non-union complex sentence explains and reveals the content of the first part.
3) The first part of a non-union complex sentence is contrasted with the second part.
4) The first part of a non-union complex sentence indicates the conditions for performing the action indicated in the second part.

My young friend! You probably already realized that on this page of Knowledge we will talk about placing a colon in the SBP.

I suggest you remember the definition of a complex sentence.

A unionless complex sentence is _____________, the parts of which are interconnected by ___________ and _____________ and are connected without the help of _________ or allied words by intonation and _________________________.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer: a non-union complex sentence is a complex sentence, the parts of which are interconnected in meaning and structure and are connected without the help of conjunctions or allied words by intonation and the order of the parts.

A little theory

A colon in a non-union complex sentence that splits into two parts is placed:

1) if the second part (one or more sentences) explains, reveals the content of the first part (the words “namely” can be inserted between both parts), for example: In fact, Akaki Akakievich’s overcoat had some strange structure: its collar became smaller and smaller every year, because it served to undermine other parts(Gogol);

2) if in the first part through verbs see, look, hear, understand, know, feel etc. a warning is given that what will follow is a statement of some fact or some description (in these cases, a conjunction can usually be inserted between both parts What), For example: I crawled through the thick grass along the ravine, I saw: the forest ended, several Cossacks were leaving it into a clearing(Lermontov); But (without warning intonation before the second part): I hear the earth shake– comma instead of colon;

3) if the first part contains verbs look out, look around, listen etc., as well as verbs with the meaning of action, warning about further presentation and allowing the words “and saw that”, “and heard that”, “and felt that”, etc. to be inserted after them, for example : I looked up: on the roof of my hut stood a girl in a striped dress with her hair down.(Lermontov).

NB! Pay attention!

In these cases, a dash is also used instead of a colon to convey various additional shades of meaning, for example: I looked at the ice hole - the water was dozing(Shishkov); He looked out of the room - not a single light in the windows(V. Panova) - however, for the purpose of justified unification, it is preferable to put a colon.

4) if the second part indicates the basis, the reason for what is said in the first part (a conjunction can be inserted between both parts because, since, since), For example: And Zhilin became depressed: he saw that things were bad(L. Tolstoy);

5) if the second part is a direct question, for example: There’s only one thing I don’t understand: how could she bite you?(Chekhov).

So, our sixth lesson in the distance learning course “Difficulties of Russian Punctuation” is coming to an end. How much do you already know! I propose to conclude our meeting with a test. I wish success to all Russian language experts!

Test

1. What numbers should be punctuated in place?

1. I love Pushkin (1) for his fun (2) and wisdom (3) and sadness (4) and nobility.

a) 1, 2, 3
b) 2, 3, 4

2. Everything is included in the novel “Eugene Onegin” (1) mind (2) heart (3) youth (4) wise maturity (5) minutes of joy (6) and bitter hours without sleep.

a) 1 - colon, 2, 3, 4, 5 - commas
b) 1 - dash, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - commas

3. And in Onegin (1) and in Tatiana (2) and in Lensky (3) something else is important (4) their spiritual appearance (5) dreams (6) suffering (7) thoughts.

a) 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 - commas, 4 - colon
b) 1, 2, 3, 5, b, 7 - commas, 4 - dashes

4. No one (1) neither mother (2) nor father (3) nor Olga (4) nor neighbors (5) nor even Lensky (6) is able to understand Tatyana.

a) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
b) 1 - colon, 2, 3, 4, 5 - commas, 6 - dash

5. Pushkin (1) not only understands his heroine (2) but loves (3) and takes pity on her.

a) 2
b) 1, 2, 3

6. The poet notices the cute little things of everyday life (1) samovar (2) Chinese teapot (3) fragrant smell of strong tea. (According to N. Dolinina.)

a) 1 – colon, 2, 3 – commas
b) 1, 2, 3 - commas

7. Walking (1) reading moral novels (2) playing chess (3) poetry in an album (4) all these are quite possible activities for lovers.

a) 1, 2, 3 - commas, 4 - colon
b) 1, 2, 3 - commas, 4 - dashes

8. A real writer (1) is the same (2) as ancient rock (3) he sees more clearly (4) than ordinary people. (A. Chekhov.)

a) 2, 4 - commas, 4 - dashes
b) 1 - dash, 2, 4 - commas, 3 - colon

9. The creativity of nature (1) and the creativity of man differ in their attitude to time (2) nature creates the present (3) man creates the future. (M. Prishvin.)

a) 2 - colon, 3 - dash
b) 2 - dash, 3 - comma

10. My poetry is an act of friendship with a person (1) hence my behavior (2) I write (3) it means (4) I love, (M. Prishvin.)

a) 2 - colon, 3 - dash, 4 - comma
b) 1,3 - dash, 2 - colon

11. Books connected me with the world (1) books sang about (2) how diverse and rich life is (3) how daring a person is in his desire for goodness and beauty. (M. Gorky.)

a) 1 - colon, 2, 3 - commas
b) 1, 2, 3 - commas

12. The whole difference between a smart and a stupid person is (1) the first will always think (2) and rarely say (3) the second will always say (4) and will never think. (V. Klyuchevsky.)

a) 1 - colon, 3 - comma
b) 1 - dash, 2, 3, 4 - commas

13. It is not only possible to be proud of the glory of your ancestors (1) but also must (2) not to respect it is shameful cowardice. (A. Pushkin.)

a) 1 - comma, 2 - semicolon
b) 1, 2 - dash

14. Struggle is a condition of life (1) life dies (2) when the struggle ends. (V. Belinsky.)

a) 1 - dash, 2 - comma
b) 1 - colon, 2 - comma

I am sure that the test was not easy for you. Because placing a dash also requires close attention and serious study. This is exactly what we will talk about in the next lesson.

When is a colon used in a sentence? It is usually used in or where there are expressions of any part of speech. In this article we will talk about when to put a colon. So, below is a list of rules that govern the setting of this and specific examples. When is the colon added?

Russian language rules

1. In the event that after the words of the author in the sentence there is direct speech. Examples:
Approaching the counter, Alexey said: “Please give me a carton of milk.”
I thought: “Should I trust him?”
If the sentence does not use direct speech and there is indirect speech (for example “I thought it would be nice to be on time.”), then the colon is not used. Conjunctions and commas are used instead.
2. A colon is placed if two sentences are combined into one without the help of conjunctions, and the second part reveals the meaning of the words of the first. Example:
We finally went down the mountain and looked around: in front of us was a clear lake.
Two guards saw that the thieves had escaped after all.

3. A colon is also placed if the sentence consists of several parts (compound). In this case, two situations are possible:
. The second part of the sentence reveals the meaning of the first. Example:

Elena turned out to be right: the only person who could stop him was his father.

Ivan did not trust him: he was afraid that Semyon would deceive him again.

The second part describes the reason. Example:
It was not for nothing that I didn’t trust you: you were always silent and extremely cold.

4. When is a colon placed? In a sentence after and before listing something with which it ends. Example:
All his relatives lived in this house: mother, father, aunt, grandmother and mother-in-law. Her apartment was so clean that everything seemed to shine: the dishes, the mirrors, and even the floor. This forest is home to predators: wolves, foxes and bears.
5. A colon is placed in a sentence if something is listed, but there is no generalizing word. Example:
Sticking out of the bag were: a wallet, documents, a comb and a passport.
A woman, a man and a child left the apartment.

6. A colon is placed in the case of listing something, the presence of a generalizing word or the following words: “like that”, “for example”, “namely”. Examples:

He had many plans for the near future, for example: to buy a computer, go on vacation and get married.

Evgeniy was interested in information about the city of Astrakhan, namely: when it was founded, how many residents live in it and what attractions there are.

Other cases

In what cases is a colon still used?
. In mathematics as a division sign. Example: 6:3=2.
. In information technology when designating computer disks. Example: D:R: and so on.
Now you know when to put a colon, and you can safely use it. Often, due to illiteracy or carelessness, the “dash” sign may be used instead of this punctuation mark. This is an unacceptable violation. And in mathematics, the division sign can be indicated in several ways: 6/3=2 or 6:3=2.

In the form of two dots located one above the other, used to indicate that the part of the text after it is connected by causal, explanatory, etc. semantic relationships with the part of the text before it.

Encyclopedic YouTube

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✪ COLON: where, when and why to put it?

✪ Unconjunct complex sentence (colon) (9th grade, video lesson-presentation)

✪ Russian language. Issue 24. Colons and dashes in different types of sentences.

✪ Punctuation marks. Where should I put a dot, a dash, a colon?

✪ Russian language 9th grade 21 week Colon in a non-union complex sentence

Subtitles

Usage

Russian language

Armenian language

Time

When indicating time, a colon separates hours, minutes and seconds:

22:50 - 22 hours 50 minutes, 9:03:15 - 9 hours 3 minutes 15 seconds.

MAC addresses

When writing MAC addresses in MAC-48 format, pairs of hexadecimal digits can also be separated by a colon (although they are usually separated by a hyphen):

12:34:56:78:9A:BC

IPv6 addresses

IPv6 addresses are written in four hexadecimal digits, separated by a colon:

2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

Mathematics

In mathematics, a colon is one of the possible symbols for the division operation (it is symmetrically broken off on both sides); in another meaning, it separates the mapping sign and its domain of definition and set of values: the entry “ f: A→B" means that the function f displays A on B(in this case, a space is placed only after the colon).

Informatics and Computer Science

In programming languages, the colon can have a wide variety of uses. Can be used either independently or in composite notations.

Independent colon:
- used to describe the dimensions of the array (the limits of the index change) and to select part of the array: a ;
- separates the second and third operands of the conditional expression a ? b:c meaning "if the condition a true, select value b, otherwise - the value c»;
- indicates the type of the variable: i: integer ;
- when defining labels, it is placed after them (BASIC, Pascal, C, Verilog) or before them (batch file in some operating systems);
- in BASIC it is also used as a command separator when writing them on one line;
- in operators for selecting from several alternatives (switch, case, etc., depending on the language) separates the description of the conditions of applicability of a particular case from the actions that must be performed;
- in some operating systems it is placed in (hierarchical) names after the name (label) of the physical or logical device: C:\MYDIR\A.TXT, prn:, etc. For this reason, the colon cannot be used in the file name;
- in some operating systems (for example Mac OS) it is used to indicate hierarchical paths to a file;
- in the Verilog language, a colon after the keyword at the beginning of a block (begin, fork) means that this block is named, and after such a colon the name of the block is written;
- in the command languages of some operating systems, separates the name of a key from its value;
- in wiki markup it is used, for example, in the following roles:
  - for links from one project to another (so-called “interwiki”), including to foreign language sections of Wikipedia;
  - in links within one project, separates the namespace indication from the individual page name (personal or official);
  - at the beginning of a paragraph is a formatting symbol indicating that this paragraph should be displayed with a space from the left edge of the text strip (the amount of space is proportional to the number of colons).
  - after entering a colon in the “Search” field, you go to the main page of this Wiki project.
Colon in compound characters:
- used in combination with the equal sign to write the assignment operator: x:= x+1 ;
  - in a similar role, in some systems of writing formal grammars, the combination is used::= with two colons;
- a double colon is used to indicate the scope of an object: std::string or to refer to a global object if there is a local object of the same name: ::i ;
- in the URL, separates the name of the protocol or access scheme from the request body.

Colon

§ 159. A colon is placed before the listing that ends the sentence:

1. If the enumeration is preceded by a generalizing word (and often, in addition, other words for example, somehow*, namely ), For example:

Cossacks rose from everywhere: from Chigirin, from Pereyaslav, from Baturin, from Glukhov, from the lower side of the Dnieper and from all its upper reaches and islands.

Gogol

L. Tolstoy

Large fish fight sharply, such as: pike, catfish, asp, pike perch*.

S. Aksakov

2. If there is no generalizing word before the listing, but it is necessary to warn the reader that some kind of list follows, for example:

From under the hay one could see a samovar, a tub of ice cream, and some other attractive bundles and boxes.

§ 161. A colon is placed after a sentence, followed by one or more sentences not connected to the first by means of conjunctions and containing:

a) clarification or disclosure of the content of what is said in the first sentence, for example:

I was not mistaken: the old man did not refuse the offered glass.

Pushkin

Moreover, the worries of her large family constantly tormented her: either the feeding of the infant did not go well, then the nanny left, then, as now, one of the children fell ill.

L. Tolstoy

Here a rather interesting picture opened up: a wide hut, the roof of which rested on two completed pillars, was full of people.

Lermontov

b) the basis, the reason for what is said in the first sentence, for example:

You won’t be able to catch up with the crazy troika: the horses are well-fed, strong, and lively.

Nekrasov

It was not for nothing that the Greek gods recognized the irresistible power of fate over themselves: fate was that dark boundary beyond which the consciousness of the ancients did not cross.

Belinsky

And then the beacon keeper and the Kyrgyz assistant see: two boats are floating along the river.

A. N. Tolstoy

I crawled through the thick grass along the ravine, I saw: the forest had ended, several Cossacks were leaving it into a clearing, and then my Karagöz jumped out straight to them...

Lermontov

Finally, we climbed Mount Gud, stopped and looked back: a gray cloud hung on it, and its cold breath threatened a nearby storm...

Lermontov

I know: in your heart there is both pride and direct honor.

Pushkin

Pavel feels that someone's fingers are touching his arm above the elbow.

N. Ostrovsky

But (without a hint of warning):

I hear the earth shake.

Nekrasov

§ 163. A colon is placed after a sentence introducing direct speech, in particular a direct question or exclamation, for example:

They were silent for two minutes, but Onegin approached her and said: “You wrote to me, don’t deny it.”