[General] Punctuation using colon

[DANAU]

Hi.

Please help me check if I have used the colon correctly, or should I apply 2 em-dashes instead, given the structure is more parenthetical than introducing a list.

#1 The three estates in the South: Estate 1, Estate2 and Estate3 are all developed in the 80s.

#2 The three estates in the South: Estate 1, Estate2 and Estate3, are all developed in the 80s.

#2 The three estates in the South--Estate 1, Estate2 and Estate3--are all developed in the 80s.

 

[tedmc]

I wouldn't capitalize "South" and use a colon. A comma will do, or you can use "viz.".

I would use a colon if there is nothing after the three items.

 

[DANAU]

Hi Piscean.

They are not real but I am using them
to construct my sentences.

Maybe I can rephrase the sentence as follows:

”All the three Southern Asian countries: Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia have started their economic development in the 80s.”

 

[tedmc]

Those are called Southeast Asian countries, which yours and mine are part of.

 

[teechar]

DANAU, in post #1, you used the present simple, and in post #4, you used the present perfect. Both are wrong. You should have used the past simple, because you're describing a completed action that occurred in the past.

 

[emsr2d2]

#1 The three estates in the South: Estate 1, Estate 2 and Estate 3 are all developed in the 80s.

#2 The three estates in the South: Estate 1, Estate 2 and Estate 3, are all developed in the 80s.

#2 The three estates in the South--Estate 1, Estate 2 and Estate 3--are all developed in the 80s.

Note the markings in red above. You need a space between the word "Estate" and the following number, just as you correctly did with "Estate 1".

 

[Tdol]

Were all developed?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . Maybe I can rephrase the sentence as follows:

”Three Southern Asian countries: Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia [STRIKE]have[/STRIKE] started their economic development in the '80s.”

You can't.

A major problem is that it's not a sentence. It would be a sentence if you use a comma instead of a colon.

So make it a sentence: Three Southeast Asian countries started their economic development in the '80s: Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Another problem is that Laos and Vietnam are also in Southeast Asia, so you can't say all three. It's not all of them. It's only three of them.

And use either '80s (with an apostrophe) or eighties.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hey, Danau! Are you there?

 

[Raymott]

A major problem is that it's not a sentence. It would be a sentence if you use a comma instead of a colon.

Yes, it's completely wrong for a colon. This would be correct for a colon:

"There are three estates, developed in the South in the 80s: Estate 1, Estate2, and Estate3." (The comma may be wrong depending on the intended purpose of the sentence).
To the instruction, "Tell me about the three estates", the comma is right.
To the instruction, "Tell me about the three estates developed in 80s", the comma would be wrong.

 

[Tdol]

So make it a sentence: Three Southeast Asian countries started their economic development in the '80s: Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

And in the 80s, Cambodia was still wrestling with the post-Khmer Rouge days, so its impressive economic development dates from later. In the 90s, you could only take a day trip from Phnom Penh to see Angkor Wat by plane because travelling by bus was not safe. There was little comparison with Thailand or Indonesia then.

 

[DANAU]

Hi all.

I am sorry for the delay in reply as I thought the thread had closed, but am pleasantly surprised to see further
inputs, which are all insightful and have helped me a lot.

And yes, I have just learnt a few rules regarding the use of colon and they are as follows:

1. A complete sentence must always precede a colon.
2. A colon should not separate the object from the verb or object from the preposition.
3. A colon is not used to set off a parenthetical phrase; if needed to do so, commas or dashes are for that purpose.

I realised my sentence has violated all the above rules; also, it is more of a parenthetical construction when including "Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia"

Once again, I do appreciate all your inputs. Have a nice weekend!

 

[DANAU]

Hi Tdol.

You are right about the history. I was at the Killing Field 3 years ago--it was a depressing place to visit; Angkor wat is certainly a better option.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes. Your rules 2 and 3 are ironclad.

Rule 1 is generally true. But you'll often see this kind of thing:

- Two suggestions: Don't kiss rattlesnakes, and don't bite electrical wires. (Here are is understood: Here are two suggestions.)

It looks like you understand colons now. Congratulations on another English lesson completed!

 

[emsr2d2]

I am sorry for the delay in reply as I thought the thread had closed, but am pleasantly surprised to see further inputs, which are all insightful and have helped me a lot.

When a thread is closed, a locked padlock symbol appears next to the title in the main forum page. It's very simple to see if your threads have new responses:
1) Click on Quick Links in the toolbar.
2) Click on My Threads.
3) On the list of threads you have started any with the title in bold have responses you have not read yet. Once you've read a response, the title goes back to non-bold.