Dash 1. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence: 2. Use a dash to show an afterthought: 3. Use a dash like a colon to introduce a list: 4. Use a dash to show that letters or words are missing: Dashes 1. To set off material for emphasis. Think of dashes as the opposite of parentheses. 2. To indicate sentence introductions or conclusions. 3. To mark "bonus phrases." Phrases that add information or clarify but are not necessary to 4. To break up dialogue. In written dialogue, if a How to Use a Dash in an English Sentence - Keeping Dashes Grammatically Correct Know the kinds of dashes. Identify an independent clause to use em dashes. Use em dashes sparingly. "The em dashis frequently used in particular works as a substitute for the comma or for the colon, and is found particularly serviceable in rhapsodical writing, where interrupted sentences frequently occur." MacKellar noted several specific uses for the dash, including: A sign of repetition in catalogs of goods, where it means ditto. When using dashes this way, you are allowed only one per sentence. The second main category is the Parenthetical Dash, in which dashes are deployed in pairs and set off nonessential elements of the Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences:
The Big Daddy of dashes, the em-dash is generally twice as long again as the en-dash. The sure-fire way of creating an em-dash is to use Alt and 0151 on the numeric keypad. US publishers (and the Oxford University Press in the UK) choose to use closed-up em-dashes (em-dashes without any spaces) where other UK publishers might use spaced en-dashes. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences: Examples: You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me. The use of dashes is inconsistent in lots of writing – regardless of how ‘professional’ the writers are. The hyphen, em dash and en dash crop up all the time while you’re using Microsoft Word, but most of us don’t know why and we use the different dashes inconsistently. There is no difference between using the M-dash in fiction vs. non-fiction vs. any other kind of writing. Are you asking about when it is appropriate to use an M-dash as opposed to some other kind of punctuation?
Mar 14, 2019 If an entire word cannot fit on a single line, a hyphen is used. This is often seen in newspapers or written work. Examples: We are planning an Sep 10, 2013 Some writers use dashes very liberally. Some are so bold as to declare that there seem to be no real rules for the use of the dash. Which is silly
The em dash can be used in place of a colon when you want to emphasize the conclusion of your sentence. The dash is less formal than the colon. Examples. May 30, 2019 To set off words and phrases: Writers have effectively used em dashes to shoehorn a parenthetical thought or remark into a sentence, as this 1. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence: My brothers—Richard and John—are visiting Hanoi Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences: Examples: You are the
Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences: Examples: You are the Use a dash [ — ] (or two hyphens [ -- ] on old-fashioned typewriters) or dashes as a super-comma or set of super-commas to set off parenthetical elements, May 5, 2014 A dash is the punctuation mark – , which is used to separate parts of a sentence. Dashes look like hyphens (which are used, for instance, to