Sep 15, 2016 we use emdashes to add emphasis to the size of the car. They can be used on their own or in pairs to offset a word or phrase. Long dashes what grammarians call em dashes are dramatic. We also use the en dash, which is the size of an uppercase n. Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after iowa and 20 in the following examples without dash.
Think of a colon as part of the sentence that just ambles along. Get it write explains and offers many more free articles on english grammar and usage. To show how to wield this handy punctuation mark, ill start by comparing two sentences. Lastly, we have the em dash, which is the size of an uppercase m. They insert information into a sentence and introduce lists. This explanation is not intended to be exhaustive for much more, see chapter 6 in cmos, but i do hope that it helps to frame the different potential of each length of dash.
Ellipsis versus the emdash september, 2011 february 7, 20 lisa j. You might be wondering why ive paired the em dash with the ellipsis. How to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word. Find out when to use dashes and when to use colons with grammar. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless. The publication manual shows specific uses for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. Otherwise, you may find yourself guilty of making funny punctuation mistakes the first basic concept to get your head. Arrows to the heart grammar girl quick and dirty tips. It is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use to. Its a littleknown fact that dashes come in different sizes. There are many uses of the en and em dash and also many ways to form these dashes using your computer. It may or may not be wise to let teenagers read joyce, but for me the damage was.
The first contained an em dash the width of the letter m, and also known as the long dash. The character is called an em dash because it is one em wide, a length that varies depending on the font size. Types of dashes and hyphens the four main dash like characters are a hyphen, an em dash, an en dash, and a minus sign. Posted in grammar blip tagged book design, dash, em dash, en dash, grammar, hyphen, novel, punctuation, writing 7 responses to en dash vs. The may 1, 20, edition of the ames sentinel arrived in june. Sometimes confused with the hyphen, a dash comes between words as a. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of dashes and gives examples of dashes used in sentences. Likewise, if the author types two hyphens to represent an em dash, the double hyphen will be converted to a proper em dash. Simply paste or write your text below and click check my writing to get feedback on your writing. Dont leave the two hyphens if they dont merge to form the em dash. The words after a colon define or clarify what came before the colon.
If you are uncertain how to insert an en dash symbol, you can use a hyphen instead. The emdash is not used when a comment by the narrator is inserted in dialog. It can add a spiceor a dash, if you willto a sentence by adding emphasis to certain words and phrases. In fact, dashes are different from hyphens, and they have a variety of forms. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. If youre writing for a newspaper, magazine, or website that uses associated. Also, the em dash may serve as a sort of bullet point, as in this todo list. Dashes, colons, and commas can change the way your sentences feel. Place the text cursor after the em dash or en dash, then press the backspace key. The em dash, em rule, or mutton is longer than an en dash.
Mar 10, 2018 its easy to use the hyphen, em dash and en dash also known as n dash and m dash, or n dash and m dash to make your writing flow better. Jan 01, 2008 grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing book. Martha nell smith, a professor of english at the university of maryland and the author of five books on poet emily dickinson the original em 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.
Shes a lovely girl, butand you may hate me for saying soshe cannot dance for the life of her. Or, less commonly, with the comma, the colon, and the parenthesis. There werent a whole lot of actual writing tips, with the exception of a short chapter near the end with advice like avoid cliches like the plague. How to use long and short dashes in your writing dummies. What is the difference in usage between an em dash and an en dash. For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if enclosed by commas.
Against all odds, petethe unluckiest man alivewon the lottery. Stever robbins, the host of the getitdone guy podcast, has been writing a book, and. The em dash also acts as the longest stop or pause in a sentence compared to the other three dashes, which all serve to join parts of sentences rather than break up a sentence and stop the. Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
Brackets, dashes, ellipses, hyphens this page discusses many of the less often discussed types of punctuation. Doesnt the em dash usually get grouped with the en dash and the hyphen. Dashes, if used incorrectly, can actually confuse readers not just bother detailoriented editors. I will try to condense the various bits of information scattered throughout cmos.
Joyce didnt invent emdash dialogue stylingit was already being used in. The ellipsis, three dots seen in text, signifies a pause within a characters dialogue or missing text within quoted material the emdash indicates an interruption in speech or to emphasize a phrase the ellipsis is always three dots. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. The en dash is slightly wider than the hyphen but narrower than the em dash. The dash the dash is used to set off additional material within a sentence, often in order to emphasize it, to set off appositives that contain commas, or to indicate missing words. Those long straight lines draw your eye and hold your attention. Jul 22, 2016 the 10 most common errors made by writers and how to fix them the seventh of a tenpart series. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. The two main uses of en dashes are to indicate number ranges and to act as a kind of superhyphen for compound modifiers. My book is full of them because it seemed to reflect how i think, but i wonder if there are conventions for good usage versus, for example, the dry, uninteresting semicolon. As you can see, the em dash is the longest of the three, and roughly the width of the letter m, which is how it got its name. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. Brackets, dashes, ellipses, hyphens grammar and punctuation.
As dashes do not feature on a standard keyboard, lots of people use hyphens instead of dashes. It would be a better choice if that sentence were part of a mystery novel where aardvark has been. Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. En dash definition of en dash by the free dictionary. Squiggly has two hobbies and, now im going to tell you what they are, colon cooking. The en dash is a bit shorter than the em dash and serves a vastly different purpose when it comes to punctuation rules. I am talking about the emdash, which looks like two hyphens connected into one long line. Once upon a time, a girl named goldilocks was walking through the forest and she came across a house that belonged to three types of dash. Em dashes are often used to set off parenthetical information.
It differentiates, for example, between dashes and the two different types of hyphen. Highlight the em dash or en dash using your mouse, then press the delete key. The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash. Dont replace the second emdash as some tend to with a comma or semicolon. British english uses an en dash with spaces instead of an em dash for asides and appositives. 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. Its also important that when you set off a phrase using em dashes that you used one emdash immediately after the noun the phrase is describing and one immediately after the phrase. The following explanations offer the most common uses and methods for forming these dashes. It is, in fact, the width of a typesetters letter n, whereas the em dash is the width of the letter mthus their names. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens. Essentially, it is a form of pause punctuation that can take the place of a comma, a semicolon. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash, longer than a hyphen. A more accurate title would probably be grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better grammar.
My question, grammar cat, concerns the use of the emdash. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. The em dash is the length of a lower case letter m and the en dash is the length of the letter n. The en dash is used to represent a span or range of numbers, dates, or time. There are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes. Its quite janitorial in nature, but i suppose much of editing is. Foreword by mignon fogarty grammar girl xvii introduction xix. Dashes versus colons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Dec 10, 2014 an em dash is not preceded or followed by a space.
The emdash may also be used when there is an interruption in the thought of the same speaker. In most american print and ebooks, correct em dash formation is done by using two hyphens with no spacing, which then becomes an em dash also called the long dash in most word processing programs as you continue typing. For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if. American english uses an em dashwithout spacesfor asides and appositives. School is based on the three rsreading, writing, and rithmetic. Dec 23, 2011 here at above the law, we prefer using a space before and after our em dashes its less visually disruptive. The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to the hyphen and minus sign but differs from these symbols in length and, in some fonts, height above the baseline. Dashes, colons, and commas grammar girl quick and dirty tips. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Dashes are similar to hyphens, but differ from them primarily in length, and serve different functions. The farlex grammar book english punctuation dashes dashes what is a dash. How to use the hyphen, en dash and em dash ndash mdash, n. In appearance, an en dash is slightly longer than a hyphen, approximately the width of a capital n, while an em dash is slightly longer than an en dash. Figuratively speaking, the hyphen pulled the short end of the stick.
In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. We use it most commonly to indicate inclusive dates and numbers. Lets look at examples of dashes, the rules for using the en dash, and compare how dashes are used in writing. The dash is used to set off additional material within a sentence, often in order to emphasize it, to set off appositives that contain commas, or to indicate missing words. If you begin a line with an em dash or ellipsis, the only reason you would insert a space before is to drive your editor nuts. Style guidelines vary as to whether or not to use an ending period if the ellipsis is at the end of. The dash, slash, ellipses, and brackets are marks that serve specific purposes as indicated below. For example, in a bibliographic list, rather than repeating the same author over and over again, three consecutive em dashes also known as a 3em dash stand in for the authors name. When should i use an emdash, an endash, and a hyphen. In this sentence you could use a comma, a dash, or a colon.
The en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen but not as long as the em dash. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. En and em dashes and hyphens one thing editors do is to fuss with punctuation, especially dashes. People sometimes use the terms hyphen and dash interchangeably, but theres a subtle distinction. If youre writing text in a program or on a website where the em dash character is completely unavailable, use two hyphens together to signify an em dash. The dash, also called the em dash, is the long horizontal bar, much longer than a hyphen. En dash em dash 4 capitalization 70 beginning a sentence or quoted sentence proper nouns titles. Please consult your favorite grammar book or blog for notes. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. See more ideas about grammar, english grammar and grammar and punctuation. An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen.
When using the em dash and the en dash you should not leave any spaces between the punctuation and the next word. An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. A hyphen is a standard key on the keyboard of a computer. First of all, there are three lengths of what are all more or less dashes. 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. If you want to use the correct dash or hyphen in stack exchange comments, just use the appropriate html entity. It is used to separate clauses, concepts, or thoughts, rather than words or syllables. May 16, 2019 the en dash is a little lesser known but no less important. You might call it the bad boy, or cool girl, of punctuation.
In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an. All cheap jabs to the majestic semicolon aside, this is a great question. Its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. The hyphen is, of course, directly on your keyboard.
Its alphabetical cousin, the en dash, is about the same width as the letter n. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Long dash vs short dash vs hyphen when to use what. In microsoft word, the en dash is created between alphanumeric characters by entering a space, two strokes of the dash key, and then another space. We use em dashes to add emphasis to the size of the car. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons, semicolons, or three dots.
The dash can clear a sentence of needless punctuation because of its multitude of uses. En dash there is a feather of a difference between an em dash and an en dash. Remember, em dashes are not interchangeable with hyphens. Specifically, the en dash is used when signifying a range of numbers or other values. Apr 24, 2009 the difference between a colon and a dash is pretty subtle. A writers use of dashes hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes is one of the typographical elements that jump out at editors. When and how to use the dash, the en dash, and the em dash.
And yes, the en dash is named because its the width of the letter n. The em dash serves an entirely different function than the hyphen and en dash, which i described in the previous blog. Although many people call the hyphen a dash, dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences. Its also important that when you set off a phrase using emdashes that you used one emdash immediately after the noun the phrase is describing and one immediately after the phrase. The dash, slash, ellipses, and brackets tip sheet butte. Learn more about the difference between em dashes and en dashes here. 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.
The length of the em dash corresponds to the width of the letter m. Em dashthats the long dash, and as grammarist says, em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me. If your word document has an em dash or en dash and you want to remove it, do one of the following. Short dashes technically, en dashes arent as showy as their wider cousins, but theyre still useful. A colon informs readers that something more is coming along. You may encounter a supersized first cousin of the em dash if you work on texts that include bibliography sections. Most folks know about the hyphen, but fewer are familiar with the em dash and the en dash. However, if you did that, youd be missing an opportunity to showcase your writing skills and, particularly for those times when the longest dash the em dash ought to be used, youd be diminishing the clarity of your writing too. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable.
You could write the sentence a different way, of course, im heading. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples. Find out whether you need spaces on either side of an emdash. Few keyboards have a dash, but a word processor can usually produce one in one way or another. Where the hyphen and en dash are used to join text, the em dash is used to. An em dash is about the length of a lower case m, which is how its name was derived. The function of the em dash the em dash is usually an alternative to another punctuation mark. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash. The em dash is the same length as the character m uppercase, and the en dash is same length as the letter n lowercase. The typical computer keyboard lacks a dedicated key for the en dash, though most word processors provide a means for its insertion. If your computer is unable to create this useful piece of punctuation you can use two hyphens as an acceptable way to indicate an em.
Use em dashes to set off parenthetical information. It can be helpful, when reading or writing, to think of the word to when you see or use an en dash. Using a single hyphen instead of an em dash can confuse readers and make your writing look unprofessional. An em dash is the longer of the two dashes, and it takes the place of commas, parentheses or colons. An emdash is typically used as a standin for a comma or parenthesis to separate out phrasesor even just a wordin a sentence for various reasons e.
The two hobbies before the colon are defined after the colon as cooking and bothering aardvark a dash also introduces extra material, but, well, a dash is quite a dramatic punctuation mark. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of. Today ill explain the difference between dashes, commas, and parentheses. One em is the same length as the fonts height which is typically measured in points. A long dashs primary job is to tell the reader that. We use an em dash, the longer dash, a different way. Grammar girl xvii introduction xix 1grammar 1 finding subjects and verbs 1 finding verbs. To type an em dash on a macintosh keyboard, use shiftoptionhyphen. So in 9point type, an em dash is nine points wide, while in 24point type the em. I recommend this to anyone who writes fiction or nonfiction books or articles. If your keyboard cant produce a dash, you will have to resort to a hyphen as a standin. Whats the difference between a hyphen, en dash, and em dash. In appearance, an en dash is slightly longer than a.