On Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:08:49 +0000, Neil Cerutti wrote: > On 2012-03-16, Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> > wrote: >> A grammarian might very well write: >> >> Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to: >> >> 1. Take the bus to Swansea. >> ... >> >> In English, one typical use for colons is to introduce a list or >> sequence of items, including instructions. A sequence of instructions >> is an algorithm, program or routine. You may have heard of them :) > > A grammarian always uses complete sentence before a colon, even when > introducing a list.
Ah, perhaps you're talking about *prescriptivist* grammarians, who insist on applying grammatical rules that exist only in their own fevered imagination. Sorry, I was talking about the other sort, the ones who apply the grammatical rules used by people in real life. You know the ones: linguists. My mistake. Colons don't end sentences, therefore there is no need to use a complete sentence before a colon. -- Steven -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list