Use of colon when addressing someone

Question

When addressing someone in an email (I understand grammar rules are pretty loose in this medium), should the sentence after the colon start with a capitalized letter? For example:

Example A:

I'm going to bring my car. David: What about you?

Example B:

I'm going to bring my car. David: what about you?

If a colon is the incorrect punctuation used in this scenario, please feel free to correct me.

score 5 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 16 '12 at 01:50

5

I wouldn't use a colon here. It suggests that David is the speaker of "what about you?" A comma seems to me to be the correct punctuation. If you put "David" at the end of the sentence, it would have to be "What about you, David?"

answered Jul 16 '12 at 01:50

The example of putting "David" at the end of the sentence makes sense! – Ray Jul 16 '12 at 03:29
+1 to this comment for explaining the potential confusion resulting from the colon. – Chiara Coetzee Jul 16 '12 at 04:36

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 16 '12 at 01:52

There are actually 5 examples of colon usage in your question. All three that have the word "example" before them are Ok.

Here is a short list of rules on how and when to use colons.

But the punctuation after the name "David" should be a comma instead. This is because you are using "direct address." This is also true in business writing and an email.

Use of colon when addressing someone

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