Let's practise

Tick which option correctly uses a colon.

The island was full of: surprises hidden valleys, tall waterfalls and glittering beaches.
The island: was full of surprises hidden valleys, tall waterfalls and glittering beaches.
The island was full of surprises: hidden valleys, tall waterfalls and glittering beaches.
The island was full of surprises hidden valleys, tall waterfalls: and glittering beaches.

  • Read the question carefully and read it again. What is it asking you to do?
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It is asking you to identify where a colon should be used.

  • Look at the sentence and think about how it is structured.
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The first part of the sentence is the introductory clause, and the second part is a list.

  • In this type of sentence, there is often a noun in the first part, and the items in the list are examples of this noun. Find the noun.
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The island was full of surprises.

  • Are the other nouns examples of surprises in this sentence?
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Yes, they are.

  • The colon will go after surprises and before the start of the list.
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The island was full of surprises: hidden valleys, tall waterfalls and glittering beaches.

  • Check your answer.