What does a child have to do to use a colon in the 11+?

Place a colon between a complete lead-in and its explanation or list. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the punctuation strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ use a colon question?

A capital letter after the mark is no help at all here: every second half starts with a name, so it looks the same either way. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.

What is not part of use a colon in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: The text before the colon must stand as a complete clause. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside use a colon?

The punctuation strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to use a colon are punctuate direct address, punctuate direct speech and punctuate a fronted adverbial. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise use a colon for free?

Use Punctuation Pinball, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to use a colon, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

English · Punctuation

Use a colon

Place a colon between a complete lead-in and its explanation or list.

Watch the worked example

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The Two-Dot Signpost

This video shows how to place a colon after a complete lead-in to introduce an explanation or a list. Watch an 11+ English question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:30

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Read the transcript

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Quick quiz: Use a colon

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Which version uses a full stop to separate two complete sentences?
- A.The whistle went far too late: Jonas had already stopped running.
- B.The whistle went far too late, Jonas had already stopped running.
- C.The whistle went far too late Jonas had already stopped running.
- D.The whistle went far too late. Jonas had already stopped running.
Question 2
Which version uses a full stop to separate two complete sentences?
- A.The rain stopped at noon. Amara opened all the windows.
- B.The rain stopped at noon Amara opened all the windows.
- C.The rain stopped at noon: Amara opened all the windows.
- D.The rain stopped at noon, Amara opened all the windows.
Question 3
Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?
- A.Three judges had already agreed; Mia, Amara and Priya.
- B.Three judges had already agreed. Mia, Amara and Priya.
- C.Three judges had already agreed, Mia, Amara and Priya.
- D.Three judges had already agreed: Mia, Amara and Priya.
Question 4
Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?
- A.One of us had known all along; Mia.
- B.One of us had known all along: Mia.
- C.One of us had known all along. Mia.
- D.One of us had known all along Mia.
Question 5
Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?
- A.Three things had been left behind; Rosa's water bottle, Yusuf's spare gloves and Devan's kit bag.
- B.Three things had been left behind. Rosa's water bottle, Yusuf's spare gloves and Devan's kit bag.
- C.Three things had been left behind: Rosa's water bottle, Yusuf's spare gloves and Devan's kit bag.
- D.Three things had been left behind, Rosa's water bottle, Yusuf's spare gloves and Devan's kit bag.
Question 6
Which version uses a full stop to separate two complete sentences?
- A.The rain stopped at noon. Omar opened all the windows.
- B.The rain stopped at noon, Omar opened all the windows.
- C.The rain stopped at noon Omar opened all the windows.
- D.The rain stopped at noon: Omar opened all the windows.
Question 7
Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?
- A.Three of us were missing: Kofi, Jonas and Ellis.
- B.Three of us were missing, Kofi, Jonas and Ellis.
- C.Three of us were missing. Kofi, Jonas and Ellis.
- D.Three of us were missing; Kofi, Jonas and Ellis.
Question 8
Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?
- A.There was only one problem; Callum's soaking wet raincoat.
- B.There was only one problem Callum's soaking wet raincoat.
- C.There was only one problem. Callum's soaking wet raincoat.
- D.There was only one problem: Callum's soaking wet raincoat.
Question 9
Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?
- A.Three things had been left behind, Rosa's lunch card, Jonas's spare gloves and Idris's water bottle.
- B.Three things had been left behind; Rosa's lunch card, Jonas's spare gloves and Idris's water bottle.
- C.Three things had been left behind. Rosa's lunch card, Jonas's spare gloves and Idris's water bottle.
- D.Three things had been left behind: Rosa's lunch card, Jonas's spare gloves and Idris's water bottle.
Question 10
Which version uses a full stop to separate two complete sentences?
- A.The hall was already full Omar found us three chairs.
- B.The hall was already full: Omar found us three chairs.
- C.The hall was already full, Omar found us three chairs.
- D.The hall was already full. Omar found us three chairs.

Practise it now

Three marks are missing. Pick one from the tray, then tap the hole it belongs in.

This exercise practises use a colon alongside its own main skill, Punctuation.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Worked example: Colon or full stop?

Worked example: Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list?

Only one person could have opened it. Idris.
Only one person could have opened it; Idris.
Only one person could have opened it Idris.
Only one person could have opened it: Idris.

Answer: Only one person could have opened it: Idris.

How you get there

"Only one person could have opened it" makes a promise, and "Idris" is the thing it promised. A colon is the mark that delivers a promise, so it goes between them. A full stop is wrong because "Idris" is not a sentence on its own - it has no verb of its own to stand on - so a full stop leaves it stranded.

Why the other answers tempt

A capital letter after the mark is no help at all here: every second half starts with a name, so it looks the same either way.

If they are stuck, say this

Read which mark the question asks for. A colon can introduce a name, a list or an explanation. A full stop separates complete sentences.

Now do it live in Punctuation Pinball

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Use a colon together. Here comes the question: Worked example: Which version uses a colon to introduce the promised name or list? Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Read which mark the question asks for. A colon can introduce a name, a list or an explanation. A full stop separates complete sentences. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: "Only one person could have opened it" makes a promise, and "Idris" is the thing it promised. So our answer is: Only one person could have opened it: Idris. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: A capital letter after the mark is no help at all here: every second half starts with a name, so it looks the same either way. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

Punctuation Pinball

Three marks are missing. Pick one from the tray, then tap the hole it belongs in.

This engine’s own main skill is Punctuation. It practises use a colon alongside it.

Punctuation is the writing down of your voice. Read "Slow down Ben you will trip" aloud and you will hear two small pauses and one urgent ending. When you speak straight to somebody by name, that name gets a comma on each side to fence it off from the rest, which is why Ben needs one before and one after: without them, "Slow down Ben" sounds like Ben is the thing being slowed down. The ending is chosen by tone, and a warning shouted at somebody about to fall takes an exclamation mark rather than a full stop. Say the sentence, mark the pauses, then choose the ending that matches the feeling.

What to say if they get stuck

Read it out loud. Every place your voice pauses is a hole that wants a comma.
Ben is being spoken to, not talked about. A name you are addressing gets fenced off on both sides.
The last hole ends the whole thing. Is this a calm statement or a shout of warning?

Open Punctuation Pinball on its own page to share it

How use a colon differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises several skills, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: place a colon between a complete lead-in and its explanation or list, and it stops where the text before the colon must stand as a complete clause.

Mark possession
Place an apostrophe for singular or plural possession. Excludes contractions unless contrasted explicitly.
Mark a sentence boundary
Choose punctuation that correctly ends or joins complete clauses. Excludes internal list and speech punctuation.
Punctuate direct address
Place the commas that separate a named addressee from the rest of the sentence. Excludes vocative-free openers and list commas.
Punctuate direct speech
Place the required punctuation around one direct-speech construction. Excludes rewriting dialogue content.
Punctuate a list
Use commas or a colon correctly for one list construction. Excludes semicolon-separated complex lists.

Related english skills

Punctuate a fronted adverbialPlace the comma that separates a fronted adverbial from its main clause.
Punctuate parenthesisMark one parenthetical interruption with a consistent punctuation pair.
Use capital lettersApply capital letters to sentence starts and proper nouns.

All english 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about use a colon

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Place a colon between a complete lead-in and its explanation or list. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the punctuation strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: A capital letter after the mark is no help at all here: every second half starts with a name, so it looks the same either way. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Read which mark the question asks for. A colon can introduce a name, a list or an explanation. A full stop separates complete sentences.
: The skill map draws the line here: The text before the colon must stand as a complete clause. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The punctuation strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to use a colon are punctuate direct address, punctuate direct speech and punctuate a fronted adverbial. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Punctuation Pinball, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to use a colon, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are four different problems

A free diagnostic separates them, so practice goes where the gap actually is rather than on whichever one is easiest to set.