You can tell the en dash is a little wider than the hyphen, but narrower than the em dash. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon. Dec 10, 2014 an em dash is used as you indicated in your questionto separate out some information. The antidrug assembly for grades 1112 will take place in the gym from 2. The en dash is used to represent a span of time or dates, or a range of numbers. Ive seen the en dash used as you describe in some british books.
An en dash or en rule is wider than a hyphen and narrower than an em dash. Mar 26, 2014 an en dash is wider than a hyphen and narrower than an em dash, and is the most misunderstood of the three. When typing, putting two hyphens together, with no spaces before or after, creates a dash. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. A hyphen is also used to separate syllables of a word when there is a line break, though this was more prevalent when type was set by hand rather than electronically. It should be noted that dashes are almost never required by the rules of grammar and punctuation.
Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the hyphen. Em dashes are versatile and can be used in place of commas and semicolons. This video explains how to properly use the hyphen, en dash. These dashes also work to set apart appositives, like a set of commas or parentheses do. Most folks know about the hyphen, but fewer are familiar with the em dash and the en dash. The en dash is neglected by many writers except as a substitute for an em dash, and even then it is increasingly replaced with a hyphen to mark a pause or parenthesis, especially online and, less commonly, in print journalism. The en dashs primary function is to indicate a range of inclusive numbers. The cms faq on the topic explains the differences between the three as follows. Knowing the differences between hyphens, em dashes, and en. School is based on the three rsreading, writing, and rithmetic. Dec 21, 2015 i love the hyphen from the number pad.
The en dash connects things that are related to each other by distance, as in the mayseptember issue of a magazine. May 24, 2010 its a littleknown fact that dashes come in different sizes. Find out when to use dashes and when to use colons with grammar. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. It is shorter than an em dash and longer than a hyphen. Find out whether you should be writing ebook or ebook. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless. The typical computer keyboard lacks a dedicated key for the en dash, though most word processors provide a means for its insertion. Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. Aug 22, 2017 the hyphen, en dash and em dash are different lengths, and only the hyphen can be found on your computer keyboard, right next to the zero. It is, in fact, the width of a typesetters letter n, whereas the em dash is the width of the letter mthus their names. There are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes. To replace a colon, for instance, compare these sentences. Hyphens, em dashes, and en dasheswhats the difference.
Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language. The length of the em dash corresponds to the width of the letter m. And the government worked fastinternet timeto launch it and to keep it. It can add a spiceor a dash, if you willto a sentence by adding emphasis to certain words and phrases. Its longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Specifically, the en dash is used when signifying a range of numbers or other values. Aug 25, 2016 the em dash is the widest of the three dashesits the size of an uppercase m. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. In general, the use of the em dash to provide additional information is used when the information is surprising, or the writer wants to give it more emphasis. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. It can replace commas, parentheses, or colons, depending on the context of the sentence. Two hyphens gets you an emdash if spaced apart from surrounding words. If youre not sure what all those dashes are or how to use them, this video clearly explains the differences between the hyphen.
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. How to use hyphen, en dash or em dash correctly grammarist. Jun 02, 2009 if you go to the latest updates to the blue book of grammar and punctuation on our website hyphens, rule 6, you will find that we have included en dashes in the discussion. Apr 14, 2015 the elusive en dash when a compound adjective precedes a noun it is describing, we often need a hyphen. The hyphen and the en dash are almost indistinguishable from each other when using normal size fonts. Jul 21, 2017 en dash is slightly wider than the hyphen but narrower than the em dash. Sep 15, 2016 it can add a spiceor a dash, if you willto a sentence by adding emphasis to certain words and phrases. En dash follows the same size logic as the em dash, in that the en dash is roughly the length of the letter n when typed. There are two different kinds of dashes, the em dash, and the en dash. Using dashes with times and dates a dash can be used between times and dates.
An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. In my humble opinion, in your example, they should all be hyphens. Dashes are used to separate two words into statements. It used to be the same length as the width of the letter n, but that is not always the case with modern fonts. Finally, use an en dash when youre showing connection, direction, or conflict. Indicating ranges the en dash is used to indicate a range, such as a range of numbers. When should i use an emdash, an endash, and a hyphen. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words. You can use an em dash, en dash or hyphen to separate items in a sentence. These usually follow the same rules as commas and semicolons but add emphasis. The en dash is a little longer, and the em dash is longer than that. We use it most commonly to indicate inclusive dates and numbers.
Daily tips for successful writing from grammar girl by. Stand up comedy 2018 hilarious live comedy by tarundeep singh. News watch diversity style guide download free pdf, center for integration. There are many uses of the en and em dash and also many ways to form these dashes using your computer. The hyphen connects two things that are intimately related, usually words that function together as a single concept or work together as a joint modifier e. En dash definition of en dash by the free dictionary. A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. 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. Hyphen, en dash or em dash a hyphen is used to connect two words that function as a particular concept, or when linked together form a particular modifier. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. It can be used as an appositive explanation or for emphasis. This dash is used to indicate a range, that is, elements that are related by distance, including time, years, and dates such as 3 pm6 pm, mondayfriday, march 27, or pages 2055. Apr 24, 2009 a dash interrupts the flow of the sentence and tells the reader to get ready for some important or dramatic statement.
Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. Hyphens, en dashes and em dashes textbroker authors. This means there is no space either side of the dash. A dash will usually replace the words fromto or betweenand. Dash a dash is used to indicate a break or a pause in the sentence. Em dash definition of em dash by the free dictionary. The en dash is a bit shorter than the em dash and serves a vastly different purpose when it comes to punctuation rules. The en dash is slightly wider than the hyphen but narrower than the em dash. There are two kinds of dashes, the en dash, and the em dash long dash. How wordpress handles dashes and hyphens mark on wordpress. It can be helpful, when reading or writing, to think of the word to when you see or use an en dash.
The style guide is intended to be read as an interactive pdf, where it can. Dashes versus colons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. A beginners guide to em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens. The en dash is used to represent a span or range of numbers, dates, or time. Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes sbl handbook of style. Now you will see there is a shortcut key combination to use but on mine it says to use the num my laptop doesnt have a num key and doing the function that does the number lock doesnt make the dashes work.
I am talking about the emdash, which looks like two hyphens connected into one long line. Mar 11, 2018 this feature is not available right now. Sep 18, 2017 en dashaccording to cmos, en dashes which are half the length of the em dash specify any kind of range, which is why they properly appear in indexes when a range of pages is cited e. Dash or is used generally in a place of comma, or as an interval, like 20092011. Writing principles usagov platform style guide usagov.
It is the longest dash, compared to a hyphen or an en dash. The en dash is a symbol that is slightly wider than a hyphen. It is used to emphasize a word or set of words in the sentence. Otherwise, you may find yourself guilty of making funny punctuation mistakes. If you added a dash to the hobbies sentence it would conceptually read something like this. She explained the differences between hyphens and various dashes well, and. En dashes the en dash is so called because its length is the same as the letter n. 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. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. Grammar and punctuation can be tricky when youre writing. Finally, a client asked about the use of the em dash, so i prepared this as an answer and included the hyphen, just to be thorough. Oct 24, 2015 the en dash en dash is the slightly wider brother of the hyphen, yet it is narrower than the em dash.
Jun 25, 2012 foo2 hyphens, no spacebar foobar endash foo 1 hyphen, spaced bar foo bar endash the last replacement seems misguided, and i wish it werent made or that it were an emdash instead. But it is far too strong to use words like incorrect and error for spans that are stated with hyphens. In classical english typography, you dont put spaces around dasheslike just here. If a compound adjective comprises more than two words, we use as many hyphens as are needed. For example, my college years, 20092012, were the best years of my life. The threehyphen 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. Hyphens and dashes writing explained grammar, style, and. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. One reason i prefer the mac is that the shortcuts alt hyphen for an en dash, shiftalt hyphen for an em dash are systemwide.
Depending on the sentence, the emdash can have a similar function to parentheses, colons, commas, and even semicolons. It is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use to. Correct em dash formation for ebooks and what about the en. Em dash this is the dash that was used all throughout the dash section of this packet. The following explanations offer the most common uses and methods for forming these dashes. This useful 48page ebook addresses the most commonly asked questions regarding punctuation. The en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen but not as long as the em dash. Use an en dash to represent a span or range of numbers, like. This useful 48page ebook addresses the most commonly asked questions. Generally speaking, the en dash is used to combine, connect, or set items into proportion.
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