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Subject:Re: Colon, semicolon, comma, or period? From:"Dave L. Meek's User Account" <dave -at- ROGUE -dot- DISC-SYNERGY -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 28 Jul 1995 09:55:20 -0700
Dan 'Fergus' Roberts posted the following:
>>: A colon would signal that the following clause will emphasize or
>>: clarify the idea presented prior to the colon.
>I disagree. A colon generally introduces a list enumerated in the sentence.
>If I had my grammar books unpacked, I'd use correct terminology, ...but...
>the 2nd 'product' phrase is a renaming or restatement of the 1st 'product'
>phrase. Therefore, correct punctuation would indicate that the 2 phrases are
>of equal weight.
>The sentence in question has the same construction as:
>This is Bill, my co-worker.
>Since 'coworker' is a restatement and clarification of 'Bill, it needs to be
>indicated as such. A comma, or dash for stronger emphasis, will do the
>trick. Other marks will not.
*Punctuate It Right!* (by Harry Shaw), p. 68, second paragraph:
"Major uses of the colon are ... to precede an example or
clarification of an idea suggested before the colon; ..."
While the colon might not be the punctuation mark of choice, or
even the best choice, it certainly is a viable option.
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Dave Meek
