Don’t Use a Colon After Include

You know who you are. Yeah, you. I’m calling you out – don’t use a colon after “include.” Or “includes.” Or “including.” Or any other verb that has to have something after it to make sense.

If you feel personally attacked by that, then, yes, I’m talking about you. But don’t worry: you’re not alone. A large faction of the working world commonly uses a colon before a list no matter what word comes before the list. That’s incorrect. According to English Grammar, sometimes you can use a colon in front of a list, and sometimes, you can’t.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you should’ve known that English can’t be that simple.

Why Using a Colon After “Include” Is Wrong

“Include” is a verb (Yes, yes, you knew that.), and it’s a transitive verb. That means that it has a direct object. Fancy words aside, that means that this verb is telling you something specific about the words that come after it. You can’t just end a sentence with it, or it won’t make sense.

Example: I have here a list of items which includes.

See? It doesn’t make sense. Includes what? We don’t know because the idea isn’t finished.

Using a colon says that whatever came before it is a complete thought. Sentences that end in “include” (or any variation of it) aren’t complete thoughts, so using a colon after them is confusing.

When Can You Use a Colon Before a List?

You can only use a colon after a word that could be the end of the sentence.

Example: I have here a list of ingredients.

That sentence makes sense on its own, so you can use a colon after it. Why? Well, in the case of a list, a colon is a bit like an equal sign. Whatever comes after it is equated with the sentence before it. Usually, if you can take the word before it and set it equal to the list, then you are using the colon correctly.

Example: ingredients = salt, pepper, eggs, and milk ✅

Those are equal. It is a list of ingredients, so you can use the colon.

The other way to check is what we did above. Replace the colon with a period. If that sentence makes sense on its own, the colon is probably ok. If the sentence is incomplete, a colon is incorrect.

What Should I Use After “Include”?

When the thought of the sentence continues, you need the one type of punctuation that indicates, “But wait! There’s more.” The only punctuation mark that does that is an ellipse.

Ellipse…

When the sentence isn’t finished but you’re switching to a bulleted or number list format, you can use an ellipse, and it will be correct.

Example: The people who volunteered are…
– Khaleesi,
– Gene, and
– Alphonso.

If you’re writing it without starting a new paragraph, on the other hand, you don’t need any punctuation at all.

Example: The people who volunteered are Khaleesi, Gene, and Alphonso.

This rule works for any verb that needs the list itself to complete its thought.

TL;DR

Please, stop using a colon after “include” and “are” and any other word you couldn’t put a period after and still have a complete thought. Every time you do, you’re stabbing a Grammar person with a teeny, tiny needle. And there’s only so much we can take. 😉