刨根问底：英语的冒号后面是否需要大写？2022-11-04

一般对于标题中除了实词和句中首字母以外应该小写，那么标题中冒号后面的单词是应该大写还是小写呢？

参考调查

参考了一大堆说法

英语冒号后面首字母需要大写吗？-知乎
英文冒号后面的句子是大写的，还是小写的？-科学网
英语干货｜英文中冒号的各种用法 -搜狐
英语冒号后面的句子是用大写还是小写-柯帕斯英语网

知乎用户提供的第十七版《芝加哥格式手册》中说明算是比较好的。

冒号后的字母的大小写。第392页。当冒号用在一个完整的句子中，如6.61（笔者注：该编号为书的章节编号）的前两个例句，冒号后的第一个单词为小写，除非是专有名词。当冒号引出的是两个或更多的句子（如6.61的第三个例句）或者当它引出的是讲话、对话、引语或问题时（见6.65），冒号后的第一个单词首字母大写。
作者：知乎用户
链接：https://www.zhihu.com/question/321711398/answer/1674164891

参考的例句

**6.61 Use of [the colon](https://www.zhihu.com/search?q=the+colon&search_source=Entity&hybrid_search_source=Entity&hybrid_search_extra=%7B%22sourceType%22%3A%22answer%22%2C%22sourceId%22%3A1674164891%7D). 391\. 三个例句如下：**

*   The watch came with a choice of three bands: stainless steel, plastic, or leather.
*   They even relied on a chronological analogy: just as the Year II had overshadowed 1789, so the October Revolution had eclipsed that of February.
*   Yolanda faced a conundrum: She could finish the soup, pretending not to care that what she had thought until a moment ago was a vegetable broth was in fact made from chicken. She could feign satiety and thank the host for a good meal. Or she could use this opportunity to assert her preference for a vegan diet.

**6.65 Colons to introduce quotations or questions. 392–393\. 例句如下：**

*   Michael: The incident has already been reported.
*   Timothy: Then, sir, all is lost!
*   The author begins by challenging nature itself: “The [trees](https://www.zhihu.com/search?q=trees&search_source=Entity&hybrid_search_source=Entity&hybrid_search_extra=%7B%22sourceType%22%3A%22answer%22%2C%22sourceId%22%3A1674164891%7D) were tall, but I was taller.”
*   The question occurred to her at once: What if I can’t do this?

柯帕斯英语网中英语冒号后面的句子是用大写还是小写介绍也算是比较详细是参考了钟润丹著的《英语标点符号的用法》（安徽教育出版社 2002年11月第1版）。虽然其中说“冒号后面的独立句，可以大写，也可以小写”，但是我想得到其实并不是这种模棱两可的答案。

总结

• 顿号后面如果跟着是一个完整的句子，那么顿号后面这个句子的首字母应该大写。
• 但是如果后面是单词或短语，不是一个完整的句子，那么就不需要大写。

顿号后面是单词或短语，非完整的句子

• I have three desires: to eat, sleep, and work.
• This is her plan: go shopping.
• For our camping trip, I brought various essential items: a lantern, a sleeping bag, food, water, and a flashlight.
• Africa is facing a terrifying problem: perpetual drought
• The watch came with a choice of three bands: stainless steel, plastic, or leather.

顿号后面是完整的句子

• Yolanda faced a conundrum: She could finish the soup, pretending not to care that what she had thought until a moment ago was a vegetable broth was in fact made from chicken.
• The question occurred to her at once: What if I can’t do this?
• Michael: The incident has already been reported.