fertquotes.blogg.se - Dash meaning in writing

Examples of Hyphens and Dashes in Sentences.What Is a Dash and When Should It Be Used?.What Is a Hyphen & When Should It Be Used?.What’s the Difference Between a Hyphen vs Dash?.Its Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing. This writing tool uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar and spelling errors. Not sure if you’re using the hyphen, en dash, or em dash correctly? Check your writing on ’s Grammar Coach™. If you don’t use a style guide, you should remain consistent regardless of what type of spacing you use. If you use a style guide, it is best to check what the rules of em dashes are and follow them. The prime minister - and her allies in the parliament - pushed for tax reform.However, other style guides and many newspapers will often put a single space before and after an em dash. We tried Steve’s idea -an idea I thought was terrible-and it somehow worked.Most grammar resources and style guides advise not to put any spaces before or after an em dash. Grammatically, the main thing to keep in mind about the em dash is spacing. The dark secret was kept in a journal -that journal would never be found.The dark secret was kept in a journal that journal would never be found.

The Narrator finally realized the truth -Tyler Durden wasn’t real.Īn em dash can replace a semicolon that connects two independent sentences.The Narrator finally realized the truth : Tyler Durden wasn’t real.After his long journey, Gawain finally found out what was in the lockbox -nothing!.After his long journey, Gawain finally found out what was in the lockbox : nothing!.Again, this is often done to draw a reader’s attention. ColonĪn em dash can replace a colon that introduces additional information at the end of a sentence. Ready to test your punctuation skills? Quiz yourself on hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. It’s crazy that echidnas are mammals when they lay eggs -don’t even get me started on those platypuses!.(Don’t even get me started on those platypuses!) It’s crazy that echidnas are mammals when they lay eggs.The plan was devised by Ryan -my archnemesis!-so it will obviously fail.The plan was devised by Ryan (my archnemesis!), so it will obviously fail.In general, em dashes are much more likely to be used this way in informal writing. It turned out that the three sisters -Alexa, Siri, and Cortana-were actually robotsĮm dashes can replace parentheses that contain interruptions or commentary.

It turned out that the three sisters, Alexa, Siri, and Cortana, were actually robots.

Jimi Hendrix -a master guitar player if there ever was one-was left-handed.Įm dashes are especially useful for clarity if the additional information that would normally be set of by commas has additional commas itself:.

Jimi Hendrix, a master guitar player if there ever was one, was left-handed.

The following example shows how the same sentence can use either commas or em dashes: Em dashes are typically seen as more attention-grabbing than commas, so they are especially useful to focus a reader’s attention on surprising or unexpected information. We can use an em dash, or multiple em dashes, in place of commas that set off additional information or asides. However, the em dash is usually viewed as being more informal than these other punctuation marks, so writers will often use em dashes sparingly but effectively when they want to draw a reader’s attention. In general, it is not considered to be grammatically correct or incorrect to use an em dash over any of the punctuation marks or vice versa. Rather than have its own unique usage, the em dash is typically used in place of several other punctuation marks: the comma, the colon, the semicolon, or the parentheses. Green -a man I always suspected-was the true culprit.

I love kittens -who doesn’t?-but that doesn’t mean I want to adopt 50 of them.

I think something might be wrong with Jeff -he thinks he is a squirrel.

After days of deliberation, the jury came to its final verdict -not guilty.

As you read each sentence, try to see if you can figure out what other punctuation mark was replaced by an em dash. The following sentences show different ways that we can use an em dash.