Hatrack River Forum: Colon Usage Question--Punctuation not Bodily Functions

This is topic Colon Usage Question--Punctuation not Bodily Functions in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :

Should I capitalize "First" in the following sentence? And am I using the colon correctly? I had the two parts as two separate sentences, but I think that made the latter one a fragment.

quote:
Still, he is ultimately the source of the darkness in the creature: First, in his ambition to uncover the secrets of life and death, and then in imagining evil in the creature before the evil existed, and ultimately, in his neglect of the creature after its creation.

Thanks!

Posted by OSTY (Member # 1480) on :

quote:
Still, he is ultimately the source of the darkness in the creature: first, in his ambition to uncover the secrets of life and death, then in imagining evil in the creature before the evil existed, and ultimately, in his neglect of the creature after its creation.

No capital F, however, you also need to remove the and before then to make it all proper. In a list (which this is) you only use and before the final item.

Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :

Yikes! Thanks for noticing that! [Smile]

It's all fixed now. I think I have my final draft.... maybe.

Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :

quote:
Still, he is ultimately the source of the darkness in the creature: first, in his ambition to uncover the secrets of life and death; then, in imagining evil in the creature before the evil existed; and ultimately, in his neglect of the creature after its creation

You use semicolons to separate the items in the list because you are using commas within the items in the list.

Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :

Yikes again.. I'm kinda glad I only posted one sentence. I bet there are more things like that!

Class is in 15, and I have just enough time to fix that. Thanks Kat. [Smile]

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

Most style guides nowadays would only recommend capitalizing the word after the colon if the colon introduces more than one sentence.

Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :

Also, you might get away with a semicolon there, without the capital F. In that case the ; would serve as a sort of heavy comma.

Just being picky, but you could also get rid of the last comma.

Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :

Are you sure no capital F? I learned in medical transcription school that you ALWAYS capitalize after a colon, but maybe that's medical-chart protocol and not "civilian" usage.

Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :

Not standard usage, to be sure.

Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :

*pokes head in*
*look around*
*shuffles off disappointed that there are no colon jokes in thread* [Frown]

Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :

I hated reading Frankenstein in high school... and college, come to think of it. [Smile]

As a TA who has loads of papers to grade herself, don't capitalize the F and be very wary of using semicolons (though the suggestions here have been completely correct). And no, Libbie, normal human beings don't capitalize after a colon. [Wink]

Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :

Huh. I've always capitalized after a colon. Good to know I'm wrong.

Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :

I knew the semi-colon rule, I had just forgotten it. I was very happy to be reminded.

The paper is gone now, and I didn't capitalize the f. I don't think the teacher is really going to care, since content is what's really important. But I still wanted to be correct. I'm shooting for an A, and I don't want anything to stand in the way. (But I will be happy with a B...that's why I'm shooting for an A.)