Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption. En dashes are longer than a hyphen, but half the length of the em dash. Some writers like to use two hyphens to represent one dash to differentiate. See details about hyphens vs dashes rules explanations. But like these two fine actors, the dash and the hyphen are not the same, no sireee. They come before the noun or pronoun they modify except for the predicate adjective which comes after a linking verb and.
There is also an en dashwhose length is between that of the hyphen and the em dash, and its best usage is to indicate inclusive dates and numbers. Later were gonna talk about hyphens, which look like this, shoop. Its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. How to use long and short dashes in your writing dummies. On monday afternoon pat was watching the cable channel cnbc and called me over to the tv because the hosts were talking about hyphens. In the eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014, and on our website, we are letting the hyphen do the work of the en dash, and the em dash is simply now the dash or long dash. Indicating ranges the en dash is used to indicate a range, such as a range of numbers. Use a dash to indicate a summarizing clause a clause is a group of words having a subject and a verb. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. Misuse of hyphens and dashes can obscure a writers meaning, especially if a hyphen is used in place of a dash, or can make the writing look visually cluttered. If you are uncertain how to insert an en dash symbol, you can use a hyphen instead. Identifying how an emdash is used and actually using one in your own writing are two different things, the latter being trickier. This allinone reference is a quick and easy way for book, magazine, online, academic, and business writers to look up sticky punctuation questions for all styles including ap associated press, mla modern language association, apa american psychological association, and chicago manual of style.
Dont replace the second emdash as some tend to with a comma or semicolon. Insert the proper punctuation marks in the following sections. Hyphens grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar. Apr 03, 2018 aps rationale is that retaining the hyphen in compound modifiers after the noun helps avoid confusion. The first thing to know when talking about dashes is that they are almost never required by the laws of grammar and punctuation. How to write powerful sentences and paragraphs and everything you build from them. Jan 01, 2008 grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing book. They can also be used to indicate an unfinished number range. Mr bruffs guide to gcse english language mr bruffs guide to gcse english literature.
Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences. Grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing book. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. Traditionally, the en dash is the same width as a letter n in a given typeface, but there are no firm standards. They can be used on their own or in pairs to offset a word or phrase. Usually called the dash, the emdash is the width of the capital m. A video which explains what en dashes and em dashes are and how we can use them in our writing. Mignot fogarty, better known as grammar girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. Most often, you will hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a single idea.
Use a dash to show a break in thought or sentence structure. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. If the sentence is correct, put a c next to the number in the margin. Learn the uses ofand differences between dashes and hyphens. Its also important to distinguish between dashes and hyphens. Read through the text titled cultural exchange programs and underline any word. Simple stepbystep worksheet to help with learning how to use hyphens and dashes. Usually, you can tell whether a hyphen is necessary by applying common sense and mentally excluding one of the words in question, testing how the words would work together without the hyphen. Using a typewriter, you had to use two dashes for the m dash and spacehyphenspace as a rough replacement for the n dash. The editors blog is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to. It is best to limit the use of em dashes to two per sentence, to avoid confusion.
But in books, magazines and other proper printing, typesetters always used the proper dashes. Dashes and hyphens are punctuation marks that serve distinct functions. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. It can replace commas, parentheses, or colons, depending on the context of the sentence. Without the second hyphen, the sentence is about an old child. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of hyphens and gives examples of hyphens used in sentences. July 6september 17 the date range began on july 6 and ended on september 17. Correct errors involving hyphens, dashes, ellipses and parentheses in the following exercises. This article is about chapter 10 hyphen enjoy your reading. Recent versions of microsoft word will insert an em dash when you type two hyphens followed by another word. Hyphens are used in compound adjectives and compound nouns. Punctuation semicolons, colons, parentheses, dash, brackets, underlining italics, and hyphens worksheet directions. Free flipped learningrevision worksheets can be downloaded from aceyourexams. An em dash, or long dash, is used in pairs, to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an understanding of the rest of the sentence.
Only a very strict grammar pedant would pull you up for using hyphens. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of. A majority of the graduating class fiftyfive percent, in fact is going to college. Hyphens between words quiz 1 from the blue book of grammar and punctuation. The write place 2010 revised by nichole held adapted from jane strauss. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. It is used to indicate a range of values or a relationship between values. In the eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014, and on our website, we are letting the hyphen do the work of the en dash.
Because early comic book letterers were not aware of the typographic convention of replacing a typewritten double hyphen with an em dash, the double hyphen. Sep 15, 2016 identifying how an emdash is used and actually using one in your own writing are two different things, the latter being trickier. Heres a good strategy to use when trying to decide whether to use emdashes or parentheses in your writing. For example, if the hyphen is omitted in a statement such as he is a little known man, the reader might interpret it as meaning he is a known man who is little. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music and the nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading. Style guides differ in their recommendations regarding whether or not to use spaces before and after the en dash. Depending on the sentence, the em dash can have a similar function to parentheses, colons, commas, and even semicolons. Dashes are usually used to set off information that would be in parenthesis wikipedia a popular websitecan be a good source of basic information. If you find yourself wanting to throw in a little extra information about a noun in a particular. According to the constitution, only one person and that is the president can appoint justices to the supreme court. The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash.
Its longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. One of my favorite old grammar books, titled punctuate it right, has a wonderful name for the colon. Em dash em rule grammarist english grammar, grammar. I am talking about the em dash, which looks like two hyphens connected into one long line.
Hyphens between words quiz 1 the blue book of grammar and. We have lots of examples that will help you finally understand hyphen rules. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Hyphen, dash, ellipsis and parenthesis exercise 2 directions. Overusing dashes can break up the flow of your writing, making it choppy or even difficult to follow, so dont overdo it. First of all, there are three lengths of what are all more or less dashes. Dec 30, 2014 buy my revision guides in paperback on amazon. Daily grammar lesson 421 mechanics punctuation hyphens. However, given that the hyphen is so easy to find on a keyboard, hyphens have become acceptable for ranges.
Plus, grammar girl provides some impressions on how hyphens can affect the tone of your writing. How to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word updated. Punctuation semicolons, colons, parentheses, dash, brackets. The hyphen is still the only sort of dash on a normal computer keyboard. An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. Daily grammar lesson 426 mechanics punctuation dashes. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time years, months, weeks, days is written in plural form.
Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless. Aps rationale is that retaining the hyphen in compound modifiers after the noun helps avoid confusion. Grammar girl breaks down when and how to use colons, including when formatting lists. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. Hyphens are often used to tell the ages of people and things. The en dash is so called because its length is the same as the letter n. Grammar at a glance i bet you thought grammar couldnt get any more quick and dirty than it did in the previous pages, but heres the quickest grammar of all, culled from lengthier explanations found elsewhere in this book. It is the longest dash, compared to a hyphen or an en dash. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Type the corrected version of the passage in the text frame below. The students book if a singular noun ends with an s or z sound, you may just. When typing, putting two hyphens together, with no spaces before or after, creates a dash.
Although many people call the hyphen a dash, dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words. They are different from dashes, which are used for parenthesis or to extend a sentence. Learn about punctuation in a simple way with many example sentences using the contents from our english grammar book. A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. Generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together. There is also an en dash whose length is between that of the hyphen and the em dash, and its best usage is to indicate inclusive dates and numbers. Also, learn the rules for spacing and capitalization after a colon. The house, the yard, the garagethey had remained untouched dashes are used to give emphasis to written ideas and are typed by using two hyphens.
Grammar girl xvii introduction xix 1grammar 1 finding subjects and verbs 1. Book titles with hyphens these are book titles and subtitles with hyphens. Em dashes the em dash consists of a longer line, which is the length of the letter m. Thats not really such a crime, but its something of a missed opportunity to show off that you know the difference between a hyphen and a dash. Daily grammar lesson 428 mechanics punctuation dashes. How to use the hyphen, en dash and em dash ndash mdash, n. This is the dash that was used all throughout the dash section of this packet. It is shorter than an em dash and longer than a hyphen. The best punctuation book, period by june casagrande. While magazines and books still use en dashes, they are handled differently by different publishers.
The three hyphen em dash proxy was popular with various publishers because the sequence of one, two, or three hyphens could then correspond to the hyphen, en dash, and em dash, respectively. Note that length is the differentiating characteristic between dashes. In microsoft word, you can use the insert symbol command to insert a dash. This handout will help you learn the uses of em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens. Jun 02, 2009 its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. Use a hyphen in compounds made up of two or more words used as an adjective adjectives modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. Note that when hyphens are involved in expressing ages, two hyphens are required. Dashes are used to give emphasis to written ideas and are typed by using two hyphens. A brief definitions, examples and exercises to help progress pupils understanding. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought.
I will try to condense the various bits of information scattered throughout cmos. Em dashes there is no space between the words and the em dash. The dash and the hyphen are like arnold schwarzenegger and danny devito. Although they appear similar, they are not used interchangeably. Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. When to use a hyphen, an en dash or an em dash pr daily. A rule of thumb for the hyphen is that the resulting word must act as one unit. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence.
What is the difference in usage between an em dash and an en dash. A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. How to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word. And there is a difference between the two of them, its kind of confusing, but first were just gonna talk about dashes, what they are, what they do. En dashes connect continuing numbers, such as dates, times and pages. Check the spelling of all names in the heartland directory. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. Parking problems exist in downtown heartland, the biggest of which could become a bona. You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me. If you find yourself getting stumped on issues such as these issues. Yup, in the middle of a segment on the economy, they started talking about hyphens because the ticker read something like is the gla.
Parentheses,brackets,and dashes use parentheses to enclose material that is added to a sentence but is not considered of major. When using dashes and em dashes, there are a few instances where university style diverges from ap. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. Hyphens are used to connect two independent words, so they function as one unit. Here are the four main dash like characters ordered longest to shortest. Learn details of english grammar on hyphen or dash. Geraldine woods has more than 35 years of teaching experience. A sentence should contain no more than two em dashes. Suspense with a dash of humor the letty whittaker 12step mysteries by. Her decision not to resign was based on one thought she enjoys teaching english to teenagers.
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