How To Use Dashes Properly

The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash.

How to use dashes properly. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of dashes and gives examples of dashes used in sentences. Firstly looking at the hyphen the default dash. A hyphen is used for linking words and parts of words together. There should be spaces before and after a dash in british english. Generally using the em dash makes the writing style more informal as if you were writing to an old friend.

The em dash the en dash and the 3 em dash. Use an en dash when you need to connect terms that are already hyphenated or when you are using a two word phrase as a modifier. See the following examples. A single dash can emphasize material at the beginning or end of a. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens.

This means en dash is visible always with the preceding number. Ways of using dashes correctly. Using the en dash to denote a connection. This is a punctuation lesson on using dashes. Using dashes correctly isn t just an old school technique.

Although many people call the hyphen a dash dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. There are actually three different types of dashes. To judge whether a dash is appropriate try to remove the words between the dashes. If the sentence appears disjointed or does not make sense you may need to revise it instead of using the dashes. Alternatively you can use alt with numeric keys 0150.

Most often these are ranges of numbers or dates and are used. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use. Dashes can also be used as parenthesis. The em dash can be used to replace parentheses colons and commas. Dashes add drama parentheses whisper.