SENTENCE PATTERN 2 (2 ICs) : (COLON)

The colon gives an explanation. It gets a sentence from general to specific.

Ex.: Darwin's ''The Origen of Species'' a harsh truth: only the fittest survived.

We explain, give more details, about the first clause in the second. The second clause specifies the first, more general clause.

Ex.: Obama made an important announcement: Hilary will not be my Vice President.

Ex.: Shaw told a writer there are three things I dislike about your story: they are the begining, the middle and the ending.

Ex.: There is one key rule in my life: never underestimate the people around you.

The words in bold caracter are the general aspects of the sentence that we clarify in the second clause.