How To Use Dashes Instead Of Commas

For instance em dashes can replace parentheses at the end of a sentence or when multiple commas appear in a parenthetical phrase.

How to use dashes instead of commas. Use a dash in a sentence to set off parenthetical information and provide emphasis. A dash may or may not have a space on either side of it. For example i never said he began when typing a completed sentence a comma precedes the closing quotation mark and the attribution. Parentheses are the quiet whisper of an aside commas are the conversational voice of a friend walking by your desk and dashes are the yowl of a pirate dashing into a fray. After a split second of hesitation the second baseman leaped for the ball or rather limped for it.

Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. There s never a requirement to use a dash. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use. Commas can also be used to set off parenthetical information but they do. In general you can think of parentheses commas and dashes as a continuum of marks.

Please accept my application for the position advertised in the news and observer. It s entirely a matter of personal style. An em dash is made by typing two hyphens. Use a dash to cut off dialogue. A dash is a horizontal line that shows a pause or break in meaning or that represents missing words or letters.

Em dashes save the day when other punctuation would be awkward. You use them to surround something that seems a bit out of place in the sentence an aside a clarification or a commentary. A colon can be used immediately after the greeting in a formal letter less formal letters tend to use a comma in this location. Note that dashes are rather informal and should be used carefully in writing. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas.

Using a colon between a verb and its object or complement. Dashes are often used informally instead of commas colons and brackets. Use dashes in place of a comma em dashes can be used in pairs to replace commas when writing a parenthetical or interruptive phrase. So it s not a matter of it ever being correct to use a dash. To whom it may concern.