This book is a distillation of the same accessible and nonjudgmental guide to language usage. Unlike hyphens and en dashes, em dashes are less formal and generally shouldnt be used too much in one paragraph because of their visual impact. Generally, dont use the ampersand in regular text, headings or titles as a replacement for and. A colon announces that something special is about to appear. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash, longer than a hyphen. To type an em dash on a macintosh keyboard, use shiftoptionhyphen. Chapter 5 dash this article is about chapter 5 dash enjoy your reading. How to match your message to the situation dummies. Britishcanadian style guides seem wildly inconsistent on the issue of the em and en dash. Specifically, the en dash is used when signifying a range of numbers or other values. There are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes.
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. The dash, slash, ellipses, and brackets are marks that serve specific purposes as indicated below. The emdash may also be used when there is an interruption in the thought of the same speaker. Repeat listings by that same author feature a 3em dash rather than the authors name again. 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 3em dash which is the width of three ms in the corresponding font most frequently appears in a bibliography when an authors name is cited more than once.
En dash there is a feather of a difference between an em dash and an en dash. 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 girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. In fact, dashes are different from hyphens, and they have a variety of forms. Get your copy of the blue book of grammar and punctuation. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an. 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. En dashes dashes that are the width of the character n have. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. Insert the proper punctuation marks in the following sections. Sep 15, 2016 heres a good strategy to use when trying to decide whether to use emdashes or parentheses in your writing. Book store is incorrectly used instead of the compound word bookstore.
Em dashthats the long dash, and as grammarist says, em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. The dash, slash, ellipses, and brackets tip sheet butte. Place the text cursor after the em dash or en dash, then press the backspace key. There used to be a real me, but i had it surgically removed. 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. If all else fails, copy and paste the dash from another document, such as this page. Set off an introductory defining phrase with a dash. The farlex grammar book english punctuation dashes dashes what is a dash. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable.
Grammar rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Please consult your favorite grammar book or blog for notes on usage. July 6september 17 the date range began on july 6 and ended on september 17. One em is the same length as the fonts height which is typically measured in points. If you are uncertain how to insert an en dash symbol, you can use a hyphen instead. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. School is based on the three rsreading, writing, and rithmetic. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Highlight the em dash or en dash using your mouse, then press the delete key. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash.
It can be helpful, when reading or writing, to think of. Untangle the answer to these, and all your other burning punctuation questions with this definitive guide to all things period, em dash, and quotation mark. You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me. American english uses an em dashwithout spacesfor asides and appositives. Squiggly has two hobbies and, now im going to tell you what they are, colon cooking. If we can trust grammar girls thoroughness of search, then her advice is sound every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there should be. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. The chicago manual of style online explains it this way. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for. We use em dashes to add emphasis to the size of the car. The work they do is roughly related to their length. The character is called an em dash because it is one em wide, a length that varies depending on the font size. Awardwinning picturebook author tony johnston presents the poignant story of a loving.
Jan 01, 2008 to the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. Use an em dash to indicate a sharp change in tone or subject within speech. For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if enclosed by commas. The words after a colon define or clarify what came before the colon. The two main uses of en dashes are to indicate number ranges and to act as a kind of superhyphen for compound modifiers. It was a great listen and im going to pick up a hard copy for quick. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. Punctuation semicolons, colons, parentheses, dash, brackets, underlining italics, and hyphens worksheet directions. Although many people call the hyphen a dash, dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. 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 em dash, em rule, or mutton is longer than an en dash. Oct 31, 2014 use an em dash if the speakers able to complete a word, but someone or something stops them before they finish their thought.
When should i use an emdash, an endash, and a hyphen. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences. A colon informs readers that something more is coming along. The use of dashes is inconsistent in lots of writing regardless of how professional the writers are. Its an em dash before peter sellers, and an en dash between 1925 and 1980. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. They are used to create emphasis and extra separation. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words. If you find yourself wanting to throw in a little extra information about a noun in a particular sentence and are not sure whether the parentheses or the emdash is the way to go, read the sentence out loud. If your word document has an em dash or en dash and you want to remove it, do one of the following. All the grammar, punctuation, and usage rules and examples on the website plus dozens of quizzes with answers. We use an em dash, the longer dash, a different way. The hyphen, em dash and en dash crop up all the time while youre using microsoft word, but most of us dont know why and we use the different dashes inconsistently.
A hyphen is a standard key on the keyboard of a computer. The publication manual shows specific uses for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. The dash is a handy device, informal and esentially playful, telling you that youre about to take off on a different tack but still in some way connected with the present course only you have to remember that the dash is there, and either put a second dash at the end of the notion to let the reader know that hes back on course, or else end the sentence, as here, with a period. Dont replace the second emdash as some tend to with a comma or semicolon. How to use the hyphen, en dash and em dash ndash mdash, n. True or falsethe emdash can take the place of commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to add.
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. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. 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. All cheap jabs to the majestic semicolon aside, this is a great question. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons, semicolons, or three dots. The emdash is not used when a comment by the narrator is inserted in dialog. Compound words are two or more words that are combined to make a new word with a new meaning.
Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. A dashing young man is certainly not an ordinary young man, and if. Mar 10, 2018 the use of dashes is inconsistent in lots of writing regardless of how professional the writers are. The plural form is bookstores or bookshops the hyphenated versions bookstore and bookshop are also incorrect. Essentially, it is a form of pause punctuation that can take the place of a comma, a semicolon. Use an em dash if the speakers able to complete a word, but someone or something stops them before they finish their thought. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. The may 1, 20, edition of the ames sentinel arrived in june. Its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. So in 9point type, an em dash is nine points wide, while in 24point type the em. A hyphen has its own special use to be talked about in a later column. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and.
The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless. The em dashes convey a sense of speed and pace better than quotation marks, especially when there is interruption. Shes a lovely girl, butand you may hate me for saying soshe cannot dance for the life of her. Types of dashes and hyphens the four main dash like characters are a hyphen, an em dash, an en dash, and a minus sign. 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. Think of a colon as part of the sentence that just ambles along. They can be used on their own or in pairs to offset a word or phrase. Dashes are usually used to set off information that would be in parenthesis wikipedia a popular websitecan be a good source of basic information. Sometimes confused with the hyphen, a dash comes between words as a. Apr 24, 2009 the difference between a colon and a dash is pretty subtle. Dec 10, 2014 an em dash is not preceded or followed by a space. My question, grammar cat, concerns the use of the emdash.
An em dash is the longer of the two dashes, and it takes the place of commas, parentheses or colons. The hyphenated versions book store and book shop are also incorrect. Using dashes to credit quotations you can use an em dash to credit a quote to someone. Her more than 50 books include english grammar for dummies and many childrens books. Em dashes get their name from being the length of the letter m. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the. The dash we typically use is technically called the em dash, and it is significantly longer than the hyphen. 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. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. Ellipsis versus the emdash september, 2011 february 7, 20 lisa j. Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption. 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.
Grammar girls 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. A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. When typing, putting two hyphens together, with no spaces before or after, creates a dash. Simply paste or write your text below and click check my writing to get feedback on your writing. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens. If you have grammar topics youd like to see covered, please leave a comment about it. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. The en dash is a bit shorter than the em dash and serves a vastly different purpose when it comes to punctuation rules. Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after iowa and 20 in the following examples without dash. Brackets, dashes, ellipses, hyphens grammar and punctuation. In your word document, place the text cursor where youd like the dash to go, and paste it. 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. Otherwise, you may find yourself guilty of making funny punctuation mistakes the first basic concept to get your head around concerns the length of.
Find books like grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing from the worlds largest community of readers. In british english, bookshop is more commonly used. If you look at these marks with style in mind, the ellipsis is most similar to the em dash. Learn more about the difference between em dashes and en dashes here. British english uses an en dash with spaces instead of an em dash for asides and appositives. People sometimes use the terms hyphen and dash interchangeably, but theres a subtle distinction. How to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word. An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash. The function of the em dash the em dash is usually an alternative to another punctuation mark. New york times bestselling author mignon fogarty shares her weekly grammar girl podcast and video tips about english, grammar, and writing. It can be helpful, when reading or writing, to think of the word to when you see or use an en dash. Some say to use the en dash instead of the em dash, while others go so far as to advocate using the hyphen, advice that would lead to confusion for readers, as we have noted above. 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.