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. 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) 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. Do you use em dashes? Do you know what an em dash is? If you answered yes to both, you’re in good company.
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