When do you use a capital letter after a colon?

In news style, you usually follow a colon with a capital only when it begins a complete sentence. In book style, usually only when it begins two complete sentences. Here's the full story ...

[audio:http://www.grammarunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/0092-When-to-Capitalize-After-a-Colon.mp3|titles=0092 When to Capitalize After a Colon]

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2012 at 7:05 pm and is filed under this week's podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “When do you use a capital letter after a colon?”

  1. July 28, 2014 at 12:22 am

    Cheats for Deer Hunter: According to AP style, you use a capital after a colon anytime the stuff the colon introduces is a complete sentence. Otherwise, lowercase. According to Chicago style, you use a capital after a colon anything the colon introduces TWO or more complete sentences. Both agree, though, that if it's not a complete sentence it should not start with a cap after a colon.