When I learned that rule, it called for the series being introduced by
the colon to stand in apposition to an NP in the clause (e.g., "four
items" or "several objections"). Some of these rules try to enshrine
previous practice, while others try to create a practice that never
existed before the rule; this one is clearly in the latter category.
However, cases that violate the rule nevertheless *bother* me (all that
indoctrination in my youth had a lasting effect), and now I'm wondering
how much they bother other people. Is the rule still sufficiently in
force that students should at least be told about it, or is it fully at
the "will vs. shall" point in American English?

Bill Spruiell

Dept. of English
Central Michigan University

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Edgar Schuster
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 10:30 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Dead rules

Here are a few other contemporary examples:

The OED says that religion is: Belief in, reverence for, and desire to
please, a divine ruling power.  (Reynolds Price)

For example, if the numbers read aloud were: 1. 2. 3. and 4, the answers
would be 3, 5, and 7.  (Education Week)

Fragments followed by colons are also not uncommon:

To sum up: the classical words adopted sine the Renaissance have
enriched the
English language very greatly . . . .   (Otto Jespersen)

Well-known fact: In neither K-12 nor college English are systematic SWE
grammar and usage much taught anymore.  (David Foster Wallace)

I do wonder for how long the rule has been dying.  The following is from
Strunk and White's Elements of Style:

". . . it is exciting to reread . . . of this noble theme.  It goes:
"Vigorous writing is concise . . . ."

Ed Schuster

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