Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham and I'm so pleased you decided to join me for today's lesson on Colons.

Now, hopefully this lesson is an opportunity for you to learn something new, which can show up in your writing.

I'm really looking forward to it and I hope you are too.

So let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called Colons: first function, and it comes from my unit called Punctuation.

By the end of today's lesson, we're gonna be able to use a colon to introduce a list or a question.

So we're going to be learning how to use colons today to introduce a list or a question, which is going to be useful for us in both fiction and non-fiction writing.

So I'm hoping that you'll find it a really useful edition to your writer's toolkit.

Let's make a start.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn, colon, main clause and text cohesion, well done.

So colon is a piece of punctuation placed after a main clause that can introduce a list or a question.

As I'm sure you know, a main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense.

And text cohesion is how a text flows to maintain the interest of the reader and achieve the purpose of the text.

So it does what it's supposed to do.

Let's look at our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by using colons to introduce lists and then we'll move on to using them to introduce questions.

But our focus today is all about using colons to introduce things, and that's what we mean by the first function of colons we are learning today.

So as so you know, a main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense in its own.

For instance, we bought many items at the shops.

A huge number of countries have experienced wars in the last century.

Several children were absent today, Britain has many famous children's authors.

You can see the verbs in purple here.

All have experienced were and has all verbs.

And these are all main clauses because they contain a verb and make complete sense on their own.

And each of them, these main clauses could be a complete sentence on its own.

And that's why we have our character main who has the superpower that they could be a complete sentence on their own.

So we could say these with capital letters and full stops to make them complete sentences.

Now some groups of words contain a verb but do not make complete sense on their own.

For instance, my favourite movies are, I have been to many countries including, the winners are called, several towns have been affected such as, as I read those, I bet you notice they don't really make sense even though they contain verbs.

So none of these could be a sentence on their own.

So they're not main clauses, but we could change them to make them into main clauses.

That could be sentences on their own.

For instance, instead of my favourite movies are, I could say I have several favourite movies.

That's the full sentence.

Instead of, I have been to many countries including, I could say I have been to many countries with a full stop.

That's a complete sentence.

Instead of the winners are called, I could say these children have won the competition, instead of several towns have been affected such as, I could say, several towns have been affected, full stop.

So what we've done is each time we've changed these into a main clause, which is capable of being a complete sentence.

So we've made them main clauses again that we can use as complete sentences.

So which of the following are main clauses? Pause the video and see if you can work it out.

Well done, so A no, it's not a complete sentence, is it? She visited several restaurants including, could not be a sentence on it's own.

So it's not a main clause.

B is a main clause.

It could be this sentence, the yacht sailed to many countries.

C is a main clause.

We could say, there queues outside four shops as a complete sentence.

And D is not a complete sentence.

It doesn't quite sound right, does it? The soldiers who will be joining the mission are, can't be a main clause, can't be a complete sentence, well done.

So how could you change each of these into a main clause that could be a complete sentence.

Now you saw me adding and removing words and even changing whole words in the sentence to make these main clauses that could be complete sentences.

So how could you do it for these three examples? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, let's see what you got, for A I could change, she visited several restaurants including, to just, she visited several restaurants.

I've just removed a word.

Now it could be a complete sentence, for B, I could say, instead of the soldiers who will be joining the mission are, I could say, the following soldiers will be joining the mission.

Now it's a complete sentence because we've made it a main clause.

for C, I could say, instead of we are using a range of muscles, such as, I could just say we are using a range of muscles.

Now I can make it a complete sentence because I've made it a main clause.

Really well done if you came up with something similar, Now you probably know that a list of three or more nouns uses commas and the word and, for example, we can use a range of musical notes including crutches, minims, quavers, breves, and semibreves.

There you can see I've got commas between the first four nouns and then I've got the word and between the last two nouns.

Another example would be Christians believe the holy trinity is composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

There I've just got three nouns.

I've got a comma between the first two and and between the last two.

Here's another example, because it was Pesach, we ate a lamb shank, horseradish, parsley and hard-boiled eggs.

Here I've got four nouns.

I've got a comma after the first one, after the second one, and then an and between the last two.

So we know that we use commas between the nouns or phrases in the list.

So you can see those ones there which have comments between them.

And then we don't use comments between the last two items. We use the word and instead before that last item.

So where should the comments be placed in these lists of nouns and noun phrases.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's have a look, see what you got.

So for A, I would put them here after leg muscles.

That's the only one we need.

'Cause we've only got three noun phrases.

Leg muscles are muscles and neck muscles.

So we have a comma between the first two and and between the second two.

For B, I would put them here, schools comma, hospitals comma, the army comma, and then we've got the police and the courts with no comma between those last two.

For C, I would do it like this.

Reptiles comma, mammals comma, birds comma, and then fish and many invertebrates are the last two items in the list.

So we use an and instead of a comma, I bet you got the same.

Well done, so we talked about main clauses and we've talked about lists of nouns.

A colon is a punctuation mark that can introduce a list of nouns.

And it looks like this.

It's two dots, one above the other.

And a colon is only used after a main clause.

So that's why we spent so much time talking about those main claws.

Here's an example, we bought many items at the shops, colon, eggs comma, cheese comma, butter and milk.

Look how that list of nouns is exactly the same as how we've just done them with the commas and the and.

And we've got a main clause before our colon.

We bought many items at this shops could be a complete sentence on its own, couldn't it? Here's another example.

A huge number of countries have experienced wars in the last century, colon, Iraq comma, Syria comma, Sudan comma, Afghanistan and many more.

Another one, several children were absent today, colon, Sofia, Laura, Andeep, and Izzy.

So each time we've got main clause, then a colon, then a list of nouns.

Here's another example.

Britain has many famous children's author, Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman, Anthony Brown, Onjali Ralph and many others.

So we've got a main clause in front of the colon each time, we brought many items at the shops, a huge number of countries have experienced wars in the last century.

Several children were absent today and Britain has many famous children's authors.

Each of those could be its own sentence.

Instead we've used a colon and added a list of nouns after it.

And the list of nouns is written in the normal way with those commas and the and just as we just saw.

So can you match the main clause to the list of nouns that could follow its column? Pause the video and have a think.

Great, let's see.

So for A, I bet you got, well done.

She visited several restaurants, colon, a French one and Italian one, and a Chinese one.

Well done, for B, we would put, the following soldiers will be joining the mission colon, private Rogers, private O'Shea, private Khan and private Brown.

Well done, and for C, we would have to have, we are using a range of muscles, colon, our hamstrings, our calves, our quads, and our biceps.

And notice how our main clauses before the colon could be complete sentences on their own.

They don't have to be having a colon after them, but we've chosen to put a colon after them and then to have our list of nouns following on.

So now let's see if you can make our own list of nouns after a column.

Here we've got some main clauses that are introducing a list of nouns.

What could that list of nouns be? Pause the video and think what the list of nouns could be for each of these main clauses.

That's a great effort.

So for A, maybe you chose something like, our school has a wide range of after school activities, art, cookery, basketball, and trampolining, for B, I went for, we bought lots of items for the new school year, pencils, pens, paper, a rucksack and new plimsolls.

And for C, I could say the following children are not coming on the school trip, Alex, Jun, and Sofia.

So notice how my list of nouns has the commas in the correct places, not before and between the last two items. And again, we've got a complete sentence before that colon, really well done if you've got something similar, now as we've just said, we must ensure there's always a main clause before the colon.

What comes before the colon must be capable, able to be a complete sentence on its own.

So here's a bad example.

I have been to several countries including Spain, France, and Italy.

Well, adding that including at the end means that that's no longer a main clause.

It couldn't be a sentence on its own.

Instead we should say something like this, I have been to many countries, colon, Spain, France, and Italy, because I have been to many countries could be a sentence on its own.

So that works.

Or alternatively, I could say something like this, I have been to many countries including all these, colon.

So here, adding the all these after the including makes it return to being a complete sentence, the main clause.

So that one would work as well.

So we just have to make sure that we're making sure what comes before the colon could be a complete sentence.

So which version of the sentence here uses the main clause, the colon and the commas correctly to create a list.

So you've got a lot to check here.

Pause the video and think which one is done correctly.

Okay, let's have a look.

Hopefully you spotted that it is not gonna be A, because we've got here a strange section before the colon.

It says the yacht visited many islands such as, well, that's such as makes it not work as a complete sentence.

It's not a main clause.

B does work because there we've got the yacht visited many islands, and that could be its own sentence.

C doesn't work because we've got this comma here between the last two items when we just need the word and, so hopefully you spud that sneaky mistake there.

Well done if you did.

Now can you think of a main clause now, we could use to introduce each list of items? And remember, it has to be capable of being a complete sentence on its own and it's gonna need to have a colon on at the end to introduce the list that you can see for A, B, and C.

Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, let's see what you got for A, football, tennis, and squash.

Maybe it's something like, I play a wide range of sports colon, that can be a complete sentence so it works.

For B, Ipswitch, Norwich and Bath.

Well maybe this is something like, Laura has lived in several places colon, again, a main clause before our colon.

And for C Lucas, Sofia, Jun, and Andeep.

List of children.

Maybe it could be the following children are competition winners colon.

Now yours won't look the same as mine, but hopefully you've got a main clause that could be a complete sentence on its own, followed by the colon to introduce that list.

Well done, now let's do our first task for this lesson.

I'm gonna show you some lists of nouns with a heading.

And I want you to use each list to create a sentence using a main clause, a colon and commas.

And you can choose your own items for these if you like.

I've just given some ideas.

So for instance, a list of languages spoken at our school, sports you can play at the leisure centre, clubs at our school, and things that can be struck by lightning.

So here's an example, I could say Laura has lived in several towns.

There's my main clause, colon, Epping, Brentwood, Basildon, and Billericay.

And I've got commerce and and in the right place in my list of nouns.

So you're gonna have to change that heading into a main cause.

Add the colon and then make your list of nouns punctuated correctly.

Pause the video and see if you can have a go.

Okay, here are some examples that I came up with.

I could say there are many languages spoken at our school, including the following colon, Spanish comma French comma Bengali and polish.

For B, I could say you can play several sports at our local leisure centre colon, tennis comma badminton comma rugby and many more.

For C, I said our school offers a wide range of afterschool clubs colon, hockey comma basketball comma singing comma drumming and debate.

And for D I've written during the storm the lightning struck many things colon, a tree comma, a church tower comma, a TV mast and a telegraph pole.

And notice I've not got a comma before and in any of those sentences and I have got a main clause in front of the colon, and a comma in the right place.

Really well done if you've managed to do something similar.

Good job, okay, let's move on to the second part of our lesson.

We're now going to think about how colons can introduce something else, how they can introduce questions.

And this is really useful in our narrative writing.

So colons can also be used to introduce a question.

And just as with our lists, the colon must come after a main clause.

Here's an example, one question raised constantly through her mind, colon, would they make it out alive? And we've got it in green our main clause coming before the colon, which could be a complete sentence on its own.

I could say as the clock ticked down, he could only think of this, what would happen when it reached zero? I could say the detective faced a huge decision colon, should she trust her instincts or should she believe what the witness had said? And the question after the colon you might have noticed is also made of at least one main clause.

And it could also be a complete sentence of its own.

For instance, would they make it out alive, could be a complete sentence.

What would happen when he reached zero? And should she trust her instincts or should she believe what the witness had said, could also be a complete sentence.

So there's at least one main clause before and after the colon when we write a question, for instance, one thought dominates mind, would they find the treasure? We've got a main clause here before the colon and a main clause here as the question.

Each of these could be its own sentence.

We could say one thought dominate his mind, full stop.

And then we could have a separate sentence as a question.

When we join those two parts where the colon we've remove, we're removing the capital letter at the start of that question.

So we don't have a capital letter there after the colon.

So I wonder if you can match the main clause to the question that could follow the colon in each of these examples.

Pause the video and see if you can match them up.

Well done, good job.

Let's see what we got, for A, I would say the children were worried what was hidden inside the locked room, for B, I would say as the moon rose, the wolf cubs gazed at their mother colon, would tonight be the night they would finally get to hunt? And finally, and I worked this one out by looking at the tense of the sentences.

As I run present tense, I think of only one thing, will I escape the maze or will I be lost forever? So there I've got present tense and future tense happening in the same sentence, joined by that column.

Hopefully you match those up as well, good job.

Now adding a question after a colon can help to improve our text cohesion.

And that's because it helps remove an interruption to the flow of our writing.

Let me show an example.

We could say the real question is this, full stop.

Do we have the bravery to tackle the threats to our climate? There we've got two separate sentences.

So we've got a little interruption at that full stop to the flow of our writing.

So instead we could improve the text cohesion and the flow by adding a colon.

We could say the real question is this colon, do we have the bravery to tackle the threats to our climate? So it's slightly more cohesive, there's slightly more flow, there's slightly less interruption.

And using a colon to introduce a question also allows us to connect together sentences.

For instance, a complex sentence with a subordinate clause and a compound sentence with two main clauses.

And that's another way of improving the cohesion and flow of our writing.

Here's an example.

As the door slammed shut, we all wondered the same thing, colon, would it ever open again or will we trapped here forever? So you might have spotted we've got a complex sentence, at the start there, as the door sum shut, we all wonder the same thing.

That's an adverbial complex sentence with an adverbial clause, as the door slammed shut, then we've got the colon joining it on to a compound sentence.

Would it ever open again or will we be trapped here forever? So I've joined those two sentences together to improve the flow and cohesion of my writing.

And sometimes the main clause before the colon can look a bit unusual.

For instance, it might be something like this, the question is this, or, as I see him, I think, or when he woke up he wondered or she could only ask herself.

Now those look strange, but each of them could technically be a complete sentence even if they would sound slightly unusual.

So we can use things like this to introduce questions.

It could look like this, the question is this colon, will we make the changes we need to make, as I see him, I think, colon, what is he hiding from me, when he woke up, he wondered, colon, would today be the day? She could only ask herself, colon, what should she do now? So even though those main clauses before the colon looked slightly unusual, they actually could be complete sentences.

And that allows us to introduce these questions to improve our text cohesion.

So which of the following could come before a colon to introduce a question? Pause the video and think carefully about which ones do you think could be main clauses or complete sentences that come before the colon to introduce a question, pause the video and have a think.

Okay, let's talk about this.

'Cause this is a difficult question, for A, as the door slams I think, actually could be a complete sentence, couldn't it? As the door slams I think, could make complete sense on its own, as the door slams I think about, doesn't sound right, it's like it's starting a new idea.

So that one won't work.

I could think about only one thing that does work.

I could think about only one thing it was, does not work.

So we've really got to think what sounds right, but also what is technically right? What is making a complete sentence and not starting a new idea before that column.

Really well done if you managed to work those out.

Now let's see if you can explain some mistakes.

I've got two examples here.

I'd like you to explain what mistake has been made in writing each question that uses a colon.

So look at these carefully and see if you can work out the mistakes.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look for A, we've written, as we waited for the footstep to fade away, we thought about would they come back, they can see something sounds wrong there and it's all about that word about, isn't it? So that doesn't make sense as a complete main clause, we would say this, we thought about, is not a main clause we could write instead, as we waited for the footsteps to fade away, we thought would they come back? And that one, by removing that word about, we've made it a main clause, we've made it work.

What about this one, B, as we waited for the footsteps to fade away, we thought if they come back, we are in trouble.

We might have spotted that this, is not a question, we could write instead, as we waited for the footsteps to fade away, we thought colon, if they came back, would we be in trouble? So I've made it into a question now.

So it's really important that we have a main clause before our colon and we've got a question after it, which is also a complete sentence or capable of being a complete sentence.

Really good job if you've managed to spot those mistakes.

Now we've seen that we can also use a complex sentence before the colon, for example, as the shadows grew dark, I stepped into the silent house colon, did it seem to whisper to me? There we got an adverbial complex sentence with an adverbial clause, as the shadows grew dark, starting with that subordinating injunction as, and then we've got a main clause after it as the question.

Here's another one, pausing at the entrance of the cave, I felt my heart race, colon, would I ever see daylight again? So there we've got a non finite or ING complex sentence.

We've got pausing at the entrance of the cave as a non finite ING clause with our ING word pausing at the start.

And then we've got another main clause after it.

So again, we're increasing our text cohesion by joining complex sentences to our questions.

Now we can also add in a compound sentence after the colon in our question.

For example, when night fell, we huddled close to each other colon, would we be safe here or would they find us? So now we've got an adverbial complex sentence followed by the colon, followed by a compound sentence.

We've joined them together to increase that cohesion.

Here we've got another non final ING clause, shivering in the darkness.

So we've got shivering in the darkness, I pondered one question, colon, had the storm ended or was there worse to come? So here we've got that non finite ING complex sentence with that non finite ING clause.

And then after the colon we've got another compound sentence using our coordinating conjunction or, so these are really exciting ways of improving our rating by improving that text cohesion, joining together different types of sentence using our column.

So what questions could follow these sentences after the column? Pause the video and think carefully about these.

Okay, let's have a think.

So when we reached the edge of the ravine, we looked across the other side.

Maybe you thought of something like, could we jump across or was it too dangerous? That's a compound sentence or just a main clause.

How on earth would we cross it? Whatever you've got, make sure it's a question that is a main clause that could be a complete sentence on its own.

For the second one, we could say spotting the enemy, playing in the sky above we dashed towards the shelter.

Would we make it on time? Or it could say, had it spotted us or would it pass this by unscathed? So I've got a compound sentence in my second example there.

Again, main clause before the colon and main clause after the colon.

Good job if you've managed that.

So now let's try it the other way around.

What sentences could come before the colon? And the question in these examples? Pause the video and think carefully about these ones.

Okay, let's share some ideas.

First one we got, how on earth will we escape? So we are trapped somewhere maybe.

So I could say as we walk deeper into the dark tunnels, one question was on all our minds, colon, how on earth will we escape? I've used that adverbial complex sentence there.

For this one, I've said, leaning against a wall to catch my breath.

I asked myself, colon, had I escaped them or were they still pursuing me? So I've got a non finite ING complex sentence, then a colon and then a compound sentence using or, for this one, I've gone for, as the golden door swung open one thought filled our minds colon, was the treasure still there or had it already been taken? And this time I've got an adverbial complex sentence, then the colon, and then another compound sentence using or, hopefully you've managed to get something similar.

Great job, so let's do our final task for this lesson.

I've given you some ideas here for a tense, dramatic scenario.

And I'd like you to choose one of them to write about.

Or you may choose your own or your teacher might suggest one for you.

So I've thought of some scenarios here, in an abandoned house, entering a cave, lost in a maze, walking through a dark forest, or like I said, your own choice.

And for each scenario, I want you to write three questions introduced with a colon.

And remember you can use complex and compound sentences as part of your sentence.

They could be on either side of that colon.

Here are some examples I've chosen from a war scene.

I could say stepping through the ruins, I wondered would the city have a look as it once did? I could say immediately we froze colon, had the enemy seen our fire burning? And I could say, as the rockets hummed overhead, we held our breath colon.

Would we be lucky again? So I've used a couple of complex sentences there.

I'd love for you to try and see if you can do the same yourself.

So pause the video, use my examples and the idea of your choice to create those three questions using a colon, pause the video and have a go.

Okay, fantastic effort, well done.

Let's take a look at some example sentences.

And I've mixed up some of the different scenarios here to give you some ideas.

I could say, as we tip to it through the dusty rooms, we heard a creek above us and we froze colon, was someone there.

So we had an adverbial complex sentence, followed by a colon, followed by our main clause, the question.

For B, I've written, heading further in, we felt the air grow colder, colon, how deep under ground were we now? So again, I've got a complex sentence, followed by a main clause as a question, for C, I put, we turned left and right and then we turned right and left.

Would we ever find the entrance again? So I'm amazed there.

And then my last one, I froze as a leaf crunched to my left, who was there.

So whatever you've written, I want you to check that you have a main clause on both sides of the colon.

You may have more than one main clause or you may have a main clause and a subordinate clause.

But you need at least one main clause on either side of your colon.

And remember the bits on either side, the parts on either side must be capable of being a complete sentence on their own.

Really well done if you've managed to do that.

Okay, let's summarise our learning in this lesson, we learned that a colon is a punctuation mark that can be used to introduce a list of nouns.

We learned that the colon must be placed after a group of words, including a main clause, which could be a sentence on its own.

We've learned that a colon can also be used to introduce a question, and again, the words before and after the colon must form a complete sentence on their own and included at least one main clause.

And using a colon in this way, as we discussed, can improve text cohesion by reducing interruptions to the flow of the text.

I'm hoping you found this lesson really useful.

I'd really love for you to go away now and try and include these colons in your writing in order to introduce lists and questions as well.

Really well done and I hope to see you again in a future lesson.