English 9 (B)

The salutation is the opening part of the letter. For example:

Dear John Doe:
To Whom It May Concern:
To the Residents of 555 1st St.:

The colon is typically used in business letters only. It is not used in personal letters, which uses a comma at the end of the salutation.

A colon is used in between the hours and minutes. Examples:

5:49 a.m.
3:30 p.m.
2:17 a.m

Colons are used to let the reader know a list is coming, especially lists that contain several items. Examples:

We packed everything into the car: the sleeping bags, tents, food and cooking gear.
There were lots of people at the party: Dr. Monroe, Jack, Daisy, Esther as well as other people.
The painting seemed to have every color of the rainbow: yellow, green, red, blue and orange.

Colons should not be used after "such as." Examples:

Incorrect: I want to see painting from all the famous artists such as: Cezanne, Renoir and Raphael.
Correct: I want to see paintings from all the famous artists such as Cezanne, Renoir and Raphael.

Incorrect: I think water conservation is more of a concern for states such as: Utah, Arizona and Nevada.
Correct: I think water conservation is more of a concern for states such as Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

4) Separate an Independent Clause, such as a Quotation

A colon is used to help distinguish a sentence from a quotation.

Patrick Henry's words helped swing Virginian support towards the Revolution: "Give me liberty, or give me death."
The opening line from A Tale of Two Cities says it all: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
People always say the same cliched phrase to me: "Life isn't fair."

There are other uses for colons, such separating chapter and verse in religious texts. Examples:

Genesis 1:30
Mark 3:5
Obadiah 1:8