How To Use Dashes Correctly

A single dash can emphasize material at the beginning or end of a sentence.

How to use dashes correctly. In the microsoft office suite of applications and many others as well you can create an en dash by pressing ctrl on the number pad. It is usually used as an alternative to another type of punctuation. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. To do a search and or replace the code represents the en dash.

Em dashes are not generally used in formal documents. An em dash is used to indicate a break in a sentence or question. But if you learn how to type dashes correctly it will add a more professional feel to anything you write. Definitely check what the house style or the preferred style guide has to say about en dashes. It s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause.

Generally speaking the dash does not have a unique role. The em dash is the largest of the three kinds of dashes. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. It is used in the same manner as a parenthetical expression. A hyphen is used for linking words and parts of words together.

A word may be too long and run onto the next line so a hyphen is used to link the two parts together. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas. What s the difference between a hyphen and a dash. It is also used for words like two thirds. In practice many people use hyphens where they need to use dashes.

Here s a hyphen and here s a dash most of us don t normally type out a dash. Create an em dash by typing two hyphens without spaces between the hyphens and no spaces before or after the hyphens. After eighty years of dreaming the elderly man realized it was time to finally revisit the land of his youth ireland. The reason for using an en dash with such compounds is to send a subtle signal to the reader that the prefix belongs to the entire compound not just the first word of it. When used as parentheses dashes are alternatives to brackets or commas.