How do dashes work

White explained in "The Elements of Style":. There are actually two types of dashes, each with different uses: the em dash —also called the " long dash ," according to Oxford Online Dictionaries—and the en dash , which doesn't have another name but falls between the hyphen and em dash in terms of length.

The en dash is so named because it is approximately the equivalent width of the uppercase letter N and the em dash is roughly the width of an uppercase M. Merriam-Webster says the word dash comes from the Middle English word dasshen , which probably derives from the Middle French term dachier, meaning "to impel forward.

The Online Etymology Dictionary says the dash—a "horizontal line used as a punctuation mark"—first appeared in writing and printing in the s. By the late s, the dash had taken on some very specific roles. MacKellar noted several specific uses for the dash, including:. The last use would today be an en dash, which indicates a range. Though the Associated Press does not use the en dash, the press service nicely describes how other styles do use the shorter dash.

Some other styles call for en dashes to indicate ranges of dates, times, or page numbers, or with some compound modifiers. For example:. To create an en dash using a keyboard on a Windows-based system, hold down the Alt key and simultaneously type To create this punctuation mark on a Macintosh-based system hold down the Option key and press the Minus key [ - ].

American Psychological Association notes that you would use the en dash for:. Angela Gibson, writing for the MLA Style Center, a writing resource for the Modern Languages Association , says the organization uses an en dash when a single compound adjective is a proper noun, as in:. She notes that the MLA also calls for an en dash when a compound in the predicate position includes a proper noun:. The AP, which does use em dashes, explains that these punctuation marks are used:. To create the em dash on a Macintosh-based system, hold down the Shift and Option keys and press the Minus key [ - ], notes Techwalla , adding that alternatively, you can press the Hyphen key twice and press Space.

See our Colons handout for more information. Parentheses also signify a break in thought, but they mark an addition of information rather than an interruption like dashes do. Rather than a surprise like dashes , parentheses are a gentler insertion in your sentence. Also like dashes, parentheses should be used sparingly. Too many can break the clarity and flow of your ideas. Another thing to keep in mind is that they are often seen as casual in tone, so make sure they are appropriate for the style of writing you are using.

If not, punctuation marks such as commas are often more academically appropriate. Parentheses can be used to set off incidental information such as numbers, dates, examples, and references:. Example : The show will run for a staggering seventeen 17 weekends.

Example : A recent study examined wellness practices among Kentucky Derby winning jockeys Calamine, No mark of punctuation should ever precede a parentheses, but you can use punctuation after the closing parentheses if necessary. Example : After several weeks of exercises memory and voice , he finally began to feel competent. Key Points If you're unsure whether to use a colon or a semicolon, use a dash.

Easy life. Ready for the Test? Here is a confirmatory test for this lesson. This test can also be: Edited i. Printed to create a handout. Sent electronically to friends or students. Did you spot a typo? The destruction of Guernica — and there is no doubt that the destruction was deliberate — horrified the world. When the Europeans settled in Tasmania, they inflicted genocide — there is no other word for it — upon the indigenous population, who were wiped out in thirty years. If the strong interruption comes at the end of the sentence, then of course only one dash is used: In Sultan Mehmed finally took Constantinople — and the Byzantine Empire disappeared from the map forever.

There was no other way — or was there? In the case in which the original sentence is never resumed after the interruption, only one dash is used: John, do you suppose you could — oh, never mind; I'll do it.

This sort of broken sentence is only found in representations of conversation, such as you might find in a novel; it is never appropriate in formal writing.

Finally, in the rare case in which a sentence is broken off abruptly without being completed, a single dash is also used: General Sedgwick's last words to his worried staff were "Don't worry, boys; they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist—". Note that, in this case, the dash is written solid next to the unfinished piece-of-a-word which precedes it.

If the sentence merely tails off into silence, we use, not a dash, but a suspension. When a dash falls between the end of one line and the beginning of the next, you should try to ensure that the dash is placed at the end of the first line and not at the beginning of the second, if you can.