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Place a comma after words introducing short direct quotations, declarations and direct questions (a colon is needed to introduce longer sentences):
Note the capital letter and the absence of quotation marks in the last two examples.
If the quotation or question follows a form of the verb to be, is in apposition to a noun, or is worked naturally into the syntax of the sentence, no comma is needed:
It is also acceptable to omit the comma before quotations introduced by verbs of saying:
The use of punctuation in quotations is discussed in 8.03 Punctuation and grammar in run-in quotations.
The colon is used primarily to introduce the words that follow it. It introduces a formal quotation or a formal statement:
Short quotations or declarations, however, are usually introduced by a comma (see 7.18 Quotations, etc.).
The colon is also used for the question-and-answer format, to introduce dialogue and in transcriptions:
The colon introduces a list, but should not be used after "such as," "for instance" or "for example," or if the list is the object or complement of an element in the annunciatory statement:
but not
or
In cases such as the last two, use no punctuation after the annunciatory statement or insert a phrase such as "the following," "as follows" or "as illustrated," which then takes a colon.
The colon can be used to introduce vertical lists, even if the series is a complement or object:
The teleworking issues before the working group included:
However, here too, an introductory phrase ("the following," etc.) is preferable.
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