How To Use Dashes When Writing
Dashes between numbers dashes are used between numbers.
How to use dashes when writing. These are en dashes the same length as a lowercase n. The material inside the dashes relates to the information in the rest of the sentence but it acts as an interruption to the main point that you re making. The great barrier reef the most extensive coral reef system on earth is estimated to be wiped out by 2050. It s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. An em dash is used to indicate a break in a sentence or question.
Em en and the double hyphen. Do not confuse a dash with a hyphen which is shorter. A single dash can emphasize material at the beginning or end of a sentence. A good way to remember the difference between these two dashes is to visualize the en dash as the length of the letter n and the em dash as the length of the letter m. It is usually used as an alternative to another type of punctuation.
It is used in the same manner as a parenthetical expression. There are three forms of dashes. Rather than placing parentheses around a phrase within a statement writers can opt to surround the phrase with an em dash on either end. My brothers richard and john are visiting hanoi. Where parentheses indicate that the reader should put less emphasis on the enclosed material dashes indicate that the reader should pay more attention to the material between the dashes.
Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence. They are shorter than em dashes the same length as uppercase m. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas. Rules for using dashes generally speaking the dash does not have a unique role. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use.
The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. The words between a pair of dashes may or may not form a complete sentence. 1 to show ranges. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. Dashes are used to separate groups of words not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does.