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MountainHiker Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Punctuation and the Colon
Hi,
Is this following sentence grammatical:
I always believed that the stuff prior to the colon had to be complete sentence in its own right?
What say you?
MountainHiker
Is this following sentence grammatical:
The rule is: the word "it's" (with apostrophe) stands for "it is" or "it has".
I always believed that the stuff prior to the colon had to be complete sentence in its own right?
What say you?
MountainHiker
Top answer
I think you're right. "
- I think you're right.
- "
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11 Answers
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I think you're right. Also, I would never say "it's" meaning "it has."
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I tend to agree with you on both counts. But I think it is okay to use "it's" for "it has," though I would never do it.
MountainHiker
MountainHiker
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Hello MountainHiker
I'm an English learner from Japan. Could you allow me to throw my two cents worth to your question?
I learned in my English class (really long long time ago) that you English speakers use semicolons (;) to connect two independent complete sentences. And colons (:) are used as an indicator to show items that additionally explain the preceding phrase, like t
I'm an English learner from Japan. Could you allow me to throw my two cents worth to your question?
I learned in my English class (really long long time ago) that you English speakers use semicolons (;) to connect two independent complete sentences. And colons (:) are used as an indicator to show items that additionally explain the preceding phrase, like t
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Not wrong, Paco. Your basic explanation is correct, except for 'phrase': it should be an independent clause to the left of the colon, although often the clause appears a bit incomplete without its explanation, definition, elucidation, or exemplification on the right.
The sentence in question is wrong (just) because of that: 'the rule is' has a subject and verb, but it does need a comp
The sentence in question is wrong (just) because of that: 'the rule is' has a subject and verb, but it does need a comp
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CalifJim,
It is actually quite common in speech to contract "it has" to "it's". You say that you don't do this, but I expect that you probably do. Examples:
It's been a long time coming.
Law and Order is a great show. It's been on TV for years.
It's been raining for days.
It is actually quite common in speech to contract "it has" to "it's". You say that you don't do this, but I expect that you probably do. Examples:
It's been a long time coming.
Law and Order is a great show. It's been on TV for years.
It's been raining for days.
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I think you mean MH, Dave. I'm not sure whether he means say it or write it, though...
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All,
taiwandave, I stand corrected. You are right, for I am sure I do use "it's" to represent "it has".
MM thank you for confirming that a complete phrase is required to the left of the colon. I wonder if there is some British English versus American English at play? Because this quote is taken from a book on punctuation, I would tend to think that editing process would be
taiwandave, I stand corrected. You are right, for I am sure I do use "it's" to represent "it has".
MM thank you for confirming that a complete phrase is required to the left of the colon. I wonder if there is some British English versus American English at play? Because this quote is taken from a book on punctuation, I would tend to think that editing process would be
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