LONG EM DASH MANUAL
LONG EM DASH PROFESSIONAL

Lying, cheating, and running around-these were not typical behaviors.īarraged with insults, held at gunpoint, threatened with a knife-nothing could stop her.Ī dash is also useful in dialogue to show a break in thought that’s abrupt (rather than a trailing thought that gets an ellipsis). It can also set off an introductory clause or word when it’s followed by a pronoun that introduces a main clause.įlattery-that was the main technique he used to get information from a witness.

He controlled his anger-barely-and gave her the money. Her life wasn’t short-she’d hardly begun. She bravely led the way-though her voice trembled and her hands shook-and we finally arrived safely. A dash can also replace commas, a colon, or a semi-colon. It’s often an explanation that replaces parentheses, especially when you want to emphasize abruptness. The em dash can set off a sudden thought shift.

LONG EM DASH MANUAL

The en dash has other uses, so check your preferred style guide such as The Chicago Manual of Style or the AP Stylebook for more on that. Planes and trains: the Philadelphia–New York City train, the Frankfurt–Rome flight Magazine issues or regular events and occurrences: June–December (includes each month’s issue or an event starting with June and ending with December)

LONG EM DASH PROFESSIONAL

The average blog writer doesn’t often use it, but you’ll see it in The New York Times and other professional publications or books with editors who are careful about standard usage. I use Merriam-Webster.Īn en dash is used to connect items related by distance. Here’s a good list of hyphenated words, but always check with a reputable dictionary. Hyphens are also used for other purposes, but that’s a different subject for another day. Prefix: re-covering (a sofa, for example, not recovering from an illness), pre-kindergarten, ex-wife, co-owner A hyphen is also used to connect a prefix with a word.Ĭompound words (a single concept): great-grandmother, merry-go-round, free-for-all, front-runner.Ĭompound adjectives: red-hot (lava), run-down (shed), up-to-date (vaccines) A hyphen is a teensy weensy little dash that’s typically used to join words.Ī hyphen connects words closely related as a single concept and words that function as compound adjectives (or joint modifiers). Here’s an en dash: –Īn em dash isn’t a hyphen, either. It’s approximately the width of the lower case letter en ( n not m).

An en dash is a dash that’s about half the length of an em dash. It’s called an em dash because its width is about the same as a lower-case letter em (m).Īn em dash is not an en dash. Let’s get clear on what an em dash isĪn em dash-or dash for short-is a straight, horizontal line positioned about halfway between the bottom and top of a lower-case letter. They’re an embellishment, a tool, a piece of garland on the tree.īut used skillfully, they add emphasis, meaning, rhythm, and voice the way no other punctuation mark can. They just aren’t necessary in a piece of polished writing. Do you see what I mean?Īll em dashes can be ditched, to tell you the truth. And the parentheses don’t help matters either. Stop! Take a look at the opening paragraphs again. I definitely do-sometimes more than I should.Īnd since too many em dashes detract from effectiveness-plus look sloppy and unprofessional-if I have more than one or two on a page or blog post, I decide which are truly useful-and which can be ditched. I need to pack three more items for the trip-sunglasses, bathing suit, and beach towel.Do you use em dashes? Do you know what an em dash is? If you answered yes to both, you’re in good company. In a sentence containing a clause that explains, summarizes, or expands upon the information dramatically or intensely, an em dash can replace the colon or semicolon that connects the ideas. Parentheses separate information that is remotely related to the rest of the sentence (called parenthetical information).Įm dashes connect information that falls in the middle. Insert em dashes in place of commas or parentheses to accentuate the extra information set off by the punctuation mark:Ĭommas separate information that is closely related to the rest of the sentence. Use em dashes for the following purposes.

The function of a hyphen is to combine words or groups of words. The em and en dash are not the same as a minus sign or hyphen (-), which is shorter than both dashes. An em dash is approximately as long as the width of a typed letter 'M,' and an en dash is about as long as the letter 'N.' The names of both punctuation marks derive from their length.

Long em dash