A dash is a small horizontal line or mark of separation that is used in between clauses where something stronger than a comma<\/a> (,) less formal than a colon (:)\u00a0 and more relaxed than a parentheses ([ ]) is needed.<\/span> Hyphens are dashes that are used to join words to create compound words\u00a0 and to separate syllables of a single word<\/span><\/p>\n An en dash<\/em> is a mid-sized dash that is longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash<\/em>. The en dash<\/em> got its name from being about the same width as the letter N.<\/span><\/p>\n The em dash<\/em> is a dash that can be used instead of parentheses, commas, colons, or quotation marks in a sentence. The em dash<\/em> is named after its length\u2014it\u2019s about the same width as the capital letter M.\u00a0<\/span> It is used between numbers to represent the word <\/span>to. <\/b>It is also used when writing time, dates and book pages to mean “up to and including”<\/span> However, if a number or date range is introduced with<\/span> from<\/span>, the word <\/span>to<\/span><\/i> should be used instead of an<\/span> en dash<\/span> to keep the construction parallel. Similarly, when a range is introduced with<\/span> betwee<\/span>n<\/span><\/i>, the word <\/span>and<\/span> should be used and not the en dashes.<\/span> The en dashes can be used to represents scores and direction.<\/span> The en dash can be placed between words in a sentence to represent conflict or connection.<\/span> When a compound adjective<\/span> Commas are commonly used to offset an appositive (a small section of extra information that is added to a sentence for clarification). If the small section contains one or more commas, adding additional commas would be confusing for the reader. You can offset it with the em dash instead, on either side of the appositive<\/span> Em dashes often set off parenthetical information. Using em dashes instead of parentheses<\/a> puts the focus on the information between the em dashes.<\/span> In order to emphasize the ending of a sentence, a colon is replaced with an em dash.<\/span> Two or more em dashes can be used to indicate missing portions of a word or the entire word missing. Two em dashes for few portions of words while three em dashes for entire words that are missing.<\/span> Em dashes can show an interruption or a sudden change in the direction a particular sentence was heading<\/span> The hyphen is the shortest in length of the three marks. We use it most commonly to combine words and to separate numbers that are not inclusive for example in phone numbers.<\/span> Hyphen can represent words that have different meaning but when used together represent a single idea.<\/span>
\nThere are three different types of dashes: The <\/span>em dash<\/b><\/em>, <\/span>en dash<\/b><\/em> and<\/span> hyphen<\/em>. <\/b>These dashes differ in length and usage.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is a hyphen? (-)<\/b><\/h3>\n
What is an en dash? (\u2013)<\/b><\/h3>\n
What is an em dash? (\u2014)<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nThe use of dashes is massive in writing\u2013 regardless of how \u2018professional\u2019 the writers are. The em dash, en dash<\/em> and hyphen<\/em> crop up all the time but most of us do not know how and why we use the different lashes.<\/span><\/p>\nHow do you use a hyphen<\/em>, en dash<\/em> and em dash<\/em>?<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Range or span of numbers<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExamples<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\nExample:<\/span>
\nIncorrect: Abraham Lincoln was President of America <\/em><\/span>from<\/span> 1861\u20131865.<\/span><\/em>
\nCorrect: Abraham Lincoln was President of America <\/em><\/span>from<\/span> 1861 to 1865.<\/span><\/em>
\nIncorrect: Brian eats between 6\u20137 sweets per day.<\/em><\/span>
\nCorrect: Brian eats between 6 and 7 sweets per day.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n2. Scores and direction<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExample:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
3. Conflict or Connection<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExample:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
4. Using an en dash with complex compound adjectives<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nExample: There was a lot of conflict in the post\u2013war crisis.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nWhat is an em dash used for?<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Em dashes in place of commas<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExample:<\/span>
\nThe three of us\u2014Rachel, Amanda and I\u2014went to the weekend festival.<\/span><\/i>
\nThe words\u2014who, what, when, where, why and how\u2014are used to ask questions.<\/span><\/p>\n2. Em dashes in place of parentheses<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nFor this, we use an em dash on either side\u00a0 of the parenthetical information. Since they are less formal and more intrusive than parentheses they can be used to draw attention to the content.<\/span>
\nExample:\u00a0 <\/span>Upon recovering the stolen cars ( all 24 of them) he still did not let the suspects go.<\/span><\/i>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Upon recovering the stolen cars \u2014 all 24 of them \u2014 he still did not let the suspects go.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n3. Em dash in place of a colon<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nThe jury came up with a verdict\u2014 guilty.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n4. Multiple Em dashes<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExample: <\/span>Mr.\u00a0 G\u2014\u2014 was arraigned in court yesterday while the defendant \u2014\u2014\u2014 was not present.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n5. To mark sharp turns in thoughts<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExample:<\/span>
\nHas anyone seen my\u2014wait, what was I looking for?<\/span><\/i>
\nMichael , could you \u2014Casper get away from the water\u2014Michael, could you please bring the bread?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nHow to use a hyphen<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nHere is a detailed explanation on\u00a0 how to use a hyphen:<\/span><\/p>\n1. Compound terms<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nExample: eye-opener, free-for-all.<\/span><\/p>\n2. Compound nouns<\/b><\/h3>\n