Question

oral practice using colons correctly
read aloud each of the following sentences, indicating where colons should be inserted or deleted as necessary.
example 1. did he mean 8 00 a.m. or 9 00 a.m.?

1. insert a colon between the hour and minute in 8:00 (and) noon 12:00 (hours)
2. the word zone is a multipurpose word that can be found in many disciplines: it is used in mathematics, ecology, anatomy, geology, computer science, city planning, and slot slang.
3. we stared dumbfounded, for never had we read such wordy prose: \due to the fact that consumers may now avail themselves of many forms of energy from both traditional and alternative sources, revenue from governmentally established sites has in the local vicinity been decreasing although provider costs have tended to rise; consequently, this has made it incumbent upon your local site to warrant a slight increase in concurrent fees for said service. we thank you for your continued cooperation.\
4. do you have a book called sarajevo the road to destiny?
5. the following items should be included in any first aid kit: bandages, antibacterial ointment, and disinfectant.
6. in the bible, the story of how god creates light appears in genesis 1.
7. when i did the laundry yesterday, the contents of my little brother’s pockets proved to be as follows: a broken marble, a hunk of moss, a live beetle, four picks of varying lengths, three cents, a quantity of dirt, a piece of aluminum foil, and a large pebble.
8. i began my letter with “dear mr. fogbottom: thank you for your assistance.”
9. wow! look at all these thesaurus entries for money: scratch, moola, long green, dough, and lettuce.
10. india shares its borders with: pakistan, afghanistan, tibet, nepal, bangladesh, myanmar, and bhutan.
11. there’s a show about pancho villa on pbs tonight at 9:00.

Answer:

To solve these problems, we need to apply the rules of using colons correctly. A colon is used to introduce a list, a quotation, an explanation, or to separate hours and minutes in time. Let's analyze each sentence:

1. The word zone is a multipurpose word that can be found in many disciplines: it is used in mathematics, ecology, anatomy, geology, computer science, city planning, and also slang.

• Explanation: A colon is needed after "disciplines" to introduce the list of disciplines where the word "zone" is used.

2. We stared dumbfounded, for never had we read such wordy prose: "Due to the fact that consumers may now avail themselves of many forms of energy from both traditional and alternative sources, revenue from governmentally established sites has in the local vicinity been decreasing although provider costs have tended to rise; consequently, this has made it incumbent upon your local site to warrant a slight increase in concurrent fees for said service. We thank you for your continued cooperation."

• Explanation: A colon is needed after "prose" to introduce the quotation.

3. Do you have a book called Sarajevo: The Road to Destiny?

• Explanation: A colon is needed between "Sarajevo" and "The Road to Destiny" to separate the title parts (subtitle).

4. The following items should be included in any first - aid kit: bandages, antibacterial ointment, and disinfectant.

• Explanation: A colon is needed after "kit" to introduce the list of items.

5. In the Bible, the story of how God creates light appears in Genesis 1:3.

• Explanation: A colon is needed between the chapter and verse number in the Bible reference (Genesis 1:3).

6. When I did the laundry yesterday, the contents of my little brother’s pockets proved to be as follows: a broken marble, a hunk of moss, a live beetle, four sticks of varying lengths, three cents, a quantity of dirt, a piece of aluminum foil, and a large pebble.

• Explanation: A colon is needed after "follows" to introduce the list of contents.

7. I began my letter with "Dear Mr. Fogbottom: Thank you for your assistance."

• Explanation: A colon is needed after the salutation "Dear Mr. Fogbottom" in a letter.

8. Wow! Look at all these thesaurus entries for money: scratch, moola, long green, dough, and lettuce.

• Explanation: A colon is needed after "money" to introduce the list of synonyms.

9. India shares its borders with: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan. (Note: Tibet is an autonomous region of China, not an independent country. This is a factual correction. Grammatically, a colon is needed after "with" to introduce the list of border - sharing regions/countries.)

• Explanation: A colon is needed after "with" to introduce the list of border - sharing entities.

10. There’s a show about Pancho Villa on PBS tonight at 9:00.

• Explanation: A colon is needed between the hour and minute in the time "9:00".

Final Answers (with corrected sentences):

1. The word zone is a multipurpose word that can be found in many disciplines: it is used in mathematics, ecology, anatomy, geology, computer science, city planning, and also slang.
2. We stared dumbfounded, for never had we read such wordy prose: "Due to the fact that consumers may now avail themselves of many forms of energy from both traditional and alternative sources, revenue from governmentally established sites has in the local vicinity been decreasing although provider costs have tended to rise; consequently, this has made it incumbent upon your local site to warrant a slight increase in concurrent fees for said service. We thank you for your continued cooperation."
3. Do you have a book called Sarajevo: The Road to Destiny?
4. The following items should be included in any first - aid kit: bandages, antibacterial ointment, and disinfectant.
5. In the Bible, the story of how God creates light appears in Genesis 1:3.
6. When I did the laundry yesterday, the contents of my little brother’s pockets proved to be as follows: a broken marble, a hunk of moss, a live beetle, four sticks of varying lengths, three cents, a quantity of dirt, a piece of aluminum foil, and a large pebble.
7. I began my letter with "Dear Mr. Fogbottom: Thank you for your assistance."
8. Wow! Look at all these thesaurus entries for money: scratch, moola, long green, dough, and lettuce.
9. India shares its borders with: Pakistan, Afghanistan, (Tibet is an autonomous region of China), Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan.
10. There’s a show about Pancho Villa on PBS tonight at 9:00.