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Use dashes to mark the beginning and end of a series, which might otherwise get confused, with the rest of the sentence: Example: The three female characters—the wife, the nun, and the jockey—are the incarnation of excellence. Dashes are also used to mark the interruption of a sentence in dialogue: Example: “Help!.
When should a dash be used examples?
To set off material for emphasis. Dashes can be used for emphasis in several ways: A single dash can emphasize material at the beginning or end of a sentence. Example: After eighty years of dreaming, the elderly man realized it was time to finally revisit the land of his youth—Ireland.
Why use a dash in a sentence?
Use dashes to set off an idea or an appositive within a sentence. A dash (—) is a punctuation mark used to set off an idea within a sentence and may be used alone or in pairs. Dashes interrupt a thought in a more dramatic way than a phrase enclosed in commas, but less theatrically than parentheses.
What is a dash example?
A dash (generally, an “em dash”) can be used to replace a colon to introduce an appositive. For example: She is only interested in one thing: money. She is only interested in one thing — money.
When to use a dash or hyphen in a sentence?
The dash is often used after an independent clause. The hyphen, on the other hand, is used to join two words together like yellow-green. It usually does not have a space between the words. Also, the dash tends to be slightly longer than the hyphen, and usually would have spaces before and after the symbol.
What does a dash mean after a word?
The dash (—) is a mark of punctuation used to set off a word or phrase after an independent clause or a parenthetical remark (words, phrases, or clauses that interrupt a sentence). “A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.”May 30, 2019.
How do you use between words?
A slash or slant or solidus or virgule [ / ] (take your pick of names) is used to indicate a choice between the words it separates.
What is dash used for in writing?
A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text (not at the bottom: that’s an underscore). It’s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does.
How do dashes work in grammar?
Dashes can be used to add parenthetical statements or comments in much the same way as you would use brackets. In formal writing you should use the bracket rather than the dash as a dash is considered less formal. Dashes can be used to create emphasis in a sentence.
What is the effect of dashes in a sentence?
Quick Use: Use a dash to connect independent clauses or to inerrupt a main clause in a way that creates dramatic effect. Dashes function in two ways: to signal interruptions in a sentence (basically like parentheses), and to connect independent clauses.
Can you use a dash instead of a comma?
Use Dashes in Place of a Comma Em dashes can be used in pairs to replace commas when writing a parenthetical or interruptive phrase. The dashes have a slightly more emphatic feel, making the reader focus on this information that is set inside the special marks.
How do you use a dash in academic writing?
How to use hyphens in academic writing Hyphens are punctuation marks used to link multiple words. Use a hyphen to join words together to avoid ambiguity. Use a hyphen when two or more words act as a single adjective before a noun. Hyphenate spelled-out numbers between 21 and 99 (twenty-one, ninety-nine).
How do you use a dash in the middle of a sentence?
Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence: My brothers—Richard and John—are visiting Hanoi. (Could use commas.) In the 15th century—when of course nobody had electricity—water was often pumped by hand. (Could use brackets.).
How do you use dashes in dialogue?
The main things to remember are: Use an em dash if the speaker stops mid-word, in the same way as you’d use a hyphen. Put it inside the closing quotation marks. Use an em dash if the speaker’s able to complete a word, but someone or something stops them before they finish their thought.
How do you make a dash on the keyboard?
To create a hyphen using a U.S. keyboard, press the hyphen key. It’s on the same key as the underscore ( _ ), to the right of the zero key. The hyphen is easier to use on the numeric keypad with math formulas.
How do you use a double dash?
Double dashes are used instead of commas (or parentheses) to interrupt a sentence. The phrase separated by dashes must be grammatically inessential, by which I simply mean that the sentence will still work without that phrase.
What are dashes used for in poetry?
The dashes create an emphasis on parts of the sentence and take on the role of either commas or parentheses. When she uses the dashes as commas like the stanza from above it shifts the focus on the words that follow the dash, so the phrase “that oppresses” is meant to resonate with the reader.
How do you use a dash in a paragraph?
In effect, a dash allows you to redefine what was just written, making it more explicit. You can also use a dash as it is used in the first sentence of this paragraph: to frame an interruptive or parenthetical-type comment that you do not want to de-emphasize.
How do you write a long dash in writing?
Em dashes are often used to set off parenthetical information. Using em dashes instead of parentheses puts the focus on the information between the em dashes. For this usage, make sure you use two em dashes. Use one before the parenthetical information and one after it.
Do you use dashes in formal writing?
Did you know that dashes are informal punctuation? When writing a formal letter or another kind of document, you should always try to avoid informal punctuation symbols. Dashes are one example; exclamation marks are another. Dashes can be replaced by several other punctuations including commas, colons and brackets.
Should dashes be used in pairs?
The dash has only one use: a pair of dashes separates a strong interruption from the rest of the sentence. (A strong interruption is one which violently disrupts the flow of the sentence.) Again, note that word `pair’: in principle, at least, dashes come in pairs, though sometimes one of them is not written.
