5. Which one of the following sentences contains an unnecessary colon?
A. Here's the question on all of our minds: Will our team be able to defeat their arch rivals tonight?
B. My store list included: milk, soup, chicken, and ice cream.
C. She wants one thing: a new job.
D. Carlos has three goals in life: to graduate from college, own his own home, and work in the computer industry.
Which one do you think is unnecessary?
Hint: Colons do not follow verbs.
No. "Thing" is not a verb.
To determine which sentence contains an unnecessary colon, we need to understand the purpose and correct usage of a colon in a sentence.
A colon is typically used to introduce a list, emphasize a point, or separate two independent clauses when the second clause further explains the first. An unnecessary colon would be one where it does not serve any of these purposes and could be removed without affecting the meaning or structure of the sentence.
Let's analyze each option:
A. "Here's the question on all of our minds: Will our team be able to defeat their arch rivals tonight?"
This sentence uses a colon to introduce the question, which is a correct usage. The colon helps emphasize the importance of the question and creates a sense of anticipation. Therefore, this sentence does not contain an unnecessary colon.
B. "My store list included: milk, soup, chicken, and ice cream."
In this sentence, the colon is used to introduce a list. However, it is not necessary in this context, as the list can simply be introduced without the colon. Therefore, this sentence contains an unnecessary colon.
C. "She wants one thing: a new job."
Here, the colon is correctly used to introduce a single item or phrase that follows a statement. It highlights that the next part directly expands on what she wants. Hence, this sentence does not contain an unnecessary colon.
D. "Carlos has three goals in life: to graduate from college, own his own home, and work in the computer industry."
Similar to the previous examples, this sentence uses a colon to introduce a list. The colon in this sentence is necessary to properly present the list of goals. Therefore, this sentence does not contain an unnecessary colon.
Based on the analysis, the sentence that contains an unnecessary colon is option B: "My store list included: milk, soup, chicken, and ice cream."