If your word document has an em dash or en dash and you want to remove it, do one of the following. En dash is much smaller than em dash and is used entirely differently. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an. The character is called an em dash because it is one em wide, a length that varies depending on the font size. A writers use of dashes hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes is one of the typographical elements that jump out at editors. As you can see, the em dash is the longest of the three, and roughly the width of the letter m, which is how it got its name. For some writers, the em dash is a vice that their editors occasionally forgive but. Posted in grammar blip tagged book design, dash, em dash, en dash, grammar, hyphen, novel, punctuation, writing 7 responses to en dash vs. Note that length is the differentiating characteristic between dashes. In the eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014, and on our website, we are letting the hyphen do the work of the en dash, and the em dash is simply now the dash or long dash.
Recall that en dashes are slightly shorter in length than em dashes. Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. The en dash is often used to indicate spans of time or ranges of numbers. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after iowa and 20 in the following examples without dash. Louis hector berlioz the function of the en dash the main function of the en dash is to show ranges. Its also important that when you set off a phrase using emdashes that you used one emdash immediately after the noun the phrase is describing and one immediately after the phrase. Dashes, colons, and commas grammar girl quick and dirty tips. En dash em dash 4 capitalization 70 beginning a sentence or quoted sentence proper nouns titles.
The em dash also acts as the longest stop or pause in a sentence compared to the other three dashes, which all serve to join parts of sentences rather than break up a sentence and stop the. Shows conflict or connection between two things or ideas. For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if. Repeat listings by that same author feature a 3em dash rather than the authors name again. The ellipsis, three dots seen in text, signifies a pause within a characters dialogue or missing text within quoted material the emdash indicates an interruption in speech or to emphasize a phrase the ellipsis is always three dots. An en dash is a dash the length of two hyphens, and has almost nothing to do with hyphens i share your relief. Usually called the dash, the emdash is the width of the capital m.
Word breaks which is using a hyphen to break up a word at the end of a line of text like this. Please consult your favorite grammar book or blog for notes on usage. En dash basics like the em dash, the en dash received its name from typesetting. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples. School is based on the three rsreading, writing, and rithmetic. Most authorities recommend using no spaces before or after en or em dashes.
In fact, dashes are different from hyphens, and they have a variety of forms the publication manual shows specific uses for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. How to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. You have to use an em dash when crediting a quotation. Doesnt the em dash usually get grouped with the en dash and the hyphen. The em dash is the kind of dash i was talking about before. Find out when to use dashes and when to use colons with grammar girls tips. Dont replace the second emdash as some tend to with a comma or semicolon. We use an em dash, the longer dash, a different way. One use is for modifiers that contain a compound noun. Both of these can be found by on ms word by going to.
The em dash, aka possibly the most adaptable and intuitive punctuation mark there is, gets a lot of loveand the occasional bit of hate. It can add a spiceor a dash, if you willto a sentence by adding emphasis to certain words and phrases. Style guidelines vary as to whether or not to use an ending period if the ellipsis is at the end of. So in 9point type, an em dash is nine points wide, while in 24point type the em. The em dash the em dash is the widest brother of both the hyphen and the en dash. I frame it this way because the work they do is roughly related to their length though i dont think cmos puts it this way outright. The en dash is neglected by many writers except as a substitute for an em dash, and even then it is increasingly replaced with a hyphen to mark a pause or parenthesis, especially online and, less commonly, in print journalism.
While the en dash is used without spaces, the em dash can be used with spaces as well, depending on the used style guide. Instead of commas, parentheses, or colons em dashes are more emphatic and less formal than the other forms of punctuation. Place the text cursor after the em dash or en dash, then press the backspace key. The en dash is used to represent a span or range of numbers, dates, or time. An emdash is typically used as a standin for a comma or parenthesis to separate out phrasesor even just a wordin a sentence for various reasons e. The en dash is wider than a hyphen and narrower than an em dash. And yes, the en dash is named because its the width of the letter n. Otherwise, you may find yourself guilty of making funny punctuation mistakes the first basic concept to get your head. The hyphen connects two things that are intimately related. In fact, an em is a typographical unit of measurement. The oscar award winning actor is doing a major debut. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. The en dash is a bit shorter than the em dash and serves a vastly different purpose when it comes to punctuation rules.
The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to the hyphen and minus sign but differs from these symbols in length and, in some fonts, height above the baseline. When using the em dash and the en dash you should not leave any spaces between the punctuation and the next word. Dashes versus colons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Dashes, if used incorrectly, can actually confuse readers not just bother detailoriented editors. Or, less commonly, with the comma, the colon, and the parenthesis. It can be used as an appositive explanation or for emphasis. An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. En and em dashes and hyphens one thing editors do is to fuss with punctuation, especially dashes. Em dashes may be prone to overuse, but if you understand how beautiful the em dash can be, you wont want to overuse it. Number ranges the en dash can be used to replace the phrase up to and including, through, and to in.
The em dash is the length of a lower case letter m and the en dash is the length of the letter n. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. If you find yourself wanting to throw in a little extra information about a noun in a particular sentence and are not sure whether the parentheses or the emdash is the way to go, read the sentence out loud. A quick guide to using colons, semicolons and dashes correctly will help you improve your grammatical precision and writing. First of all, there are three lengths of what are all more or less dashes. There are many uses of the en and em dash and also many ways to form these dashes using your computer. Em dash em rule an em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. The en dash is slightly wider than the hyphen but narrower than the em dash. The typical computer keyboard lacks a dedicated key for the en dash, though most word processors provide a means for its insertion. Thats not really such a crime, but its something of a missed opportunity to show off that you know the difference between.
You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me. Apr 24, 2009 a dash interrupts the flow of the sentence and tells the reader to get ready for some important or dramatic statement. With computers, you can format or insert an emdash easily and its used to indicate an interruption within dialogue, or to emphasize a certain phrase. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences. And of course, some of the best em dash examples exist in the world of literature. Specifically, the en dash is used when signifying a range of numbers or other values. There used to be a real me, but i had it surgically removed.
Although many people call the hyphen a dash, dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. There are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes. Highlight the em dash or en dash using your mouse, then press the delete key. Dont leave the two hyphens if they dont merge to form the em dash. En dash is used to represent the time spans and range of numbers. Insert, symbol and then selecting the dash you require.
I am talking about the emdash, which looks like two hyphens connected into one long line. To replace a colon, for instance, compare these sentences. The may 1, 20, edition of the ames sentinel arrived in june. Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption. Hyphens and dashes guide to writing lumen learning. An em dash is used as you indicated in your questionto separate out some information. Mar 10, 2018 the en dash is about as wide as an uppercase n. The em dash is the widest of the three dashesits the size of an uppercase m. When and how to use the dash, the en dash, and the em dash. True or falsethe emdash can take the place of commas. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words. Writers love em dashes as much as hunters love swiss army knives.
An en dash is longer than a dash and shorter than an em dash. The 3em dash which is the width of three ms in the corresponding font most frequently appears in a bibliography when an authors name is cited more than once. An em dash, or long dash, is used in pairs, to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an understanding of the rest of the sentence. Dashes, colons, and commas can change the way your sentences feel. Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. A colon informs readers that something more is coming along. One em is the same length as the fonts height which is typically measured in points.
Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. How to write fiction em dashes en dashes and hyphens. Its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. The farlex grammar book english punctuation dashes dashes what is a dash.
The following explanations offer the most common uses and methods for forming these dashes. Em dashthats the long dash, and as grammarist says, em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. Mignot fogarty, better known as grammar girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. If you added a dash to the hobbies sentence it would conceptually read something like this. The author talks about gay rights on pages 101145 of his book. The nebulaawardwinning author is writing a new book. They can be used on their own or in pairs to offset a word or phrase. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. Presubmission basic grammar and style primer for childrens. The em dash, em rule, or mutton is longer than an en dash. Apr 08, 2018 so i thought of the en dash, and have employed it throughout the story.
This dash is the same length as the letter n, so it is thus called an en dash. The camp is a crowded and unfamiliar place, whose dusty floors, seemingly endless lines, and barbed wire fences begin to unravel the strong kashino family ties. Louis hector berlioz time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. Against all odds, petethe unluckiest man alivewon the lottery. The em dash is the same length as the character m uppercase, and the en dash is same length as the letter n lowercase. The en dash signals that more words than one are linked with the other part of the modifier. The en dash is not interchangeable with the hyphen. My favorite thing about the world cup is the brazilmexico rivalry.
Using dashes to credit quotations you can use an em dash to credit a quote to someone. The en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen but not as long as the em dash. To show how to wield this handy punctuation mark, ill start by comparing two sentences. We use emdashes to add emphasis to the size of the car.
The most common versions of the dash are the en dash, longer than a hyphen. The words after a colon define or clarify what came before the colon. En dashes dashes that are the width of the character n have. When should i use an emdash, an endash, and a hyphen. In appearance, an en dash is slightly longer than a hyphen, approximately the width of a capital n, while an em dash is slightly longer than an en dash. I believe that my readers, once they see it used in this way a few times, will become trained to know that when the en dash shows up, its opening the internal thoughts of the.
As dashes do not feature on a standard keyboard, lots of people use hyphens instead of dashes. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. The two hobbies before the colon are defined after the colon as cooking and bothering aardvark a dash also introduces extra material, but, well, a dash is quite a dramatic punctuation mark. In your word document, place the text cursor where youd like the dash to go, and paste it. The hyphen, the em dash, and the en dash are all horizontal marks of. Essentially, it is a form of pause punctuation that can take the place of a comma, a semicolon. It can be helpful, when reading or writing, to think of the word to when you see or use an en dash. En dash definition of en dash by the free dictionary. Jul 22, 2016 the 10 most common errors made by writers and how to fix them the seventh of a tenpart series.
The en dash, which is a little shorter than the em dash, is primarily used for numbers and either opposing or related words. A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Two em dashes replace missing or omitted letters or words. En dashes may look similar to em dashes, but they function in a much different way. How to use the hyphen, en dash and em dash ndash mdash, n. Sep 15, 2016 heres a good strategy to use when trying to decide whether to use emdashes or parentheses in your writing. The nebula awardwinning author is writing a new book. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. The em dash serves an entirely different function than the hyphen and en dash, which i described in the previous blog.
Grammar girl xvii introduction xix 1grammar 1 finding subjects and verbs 1 finding verbs. Dec 10, 2014 an em dash is used as you indicated in your questionto separate out some information. You might call it the bad boy, or cool girl, of punctuation. People sometimes use the terms hyphen and dash interchangeably, but theres a subtle distinction. Words and phrases between dashes are not generally part of the subject. Where the hyphen and en dash are used to join text, the em dash is used to. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after iowa and 20 in the following examples. In general, the use of the em dash to provide additional information is used when the information is surprising, or the writer wants to give it more emphasis. It is very versatile as it can replace several punctuation marks like commas, colons, or parentheses in different contexts. Every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there should be no spaces between an emdash and the adjacent words.
The publication manual shows specific uses for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. A common myth holds that the en dash is, in fact, the width of a typesetters letter n, whereas the em dash is the width of the letter mthus their names. When a connection between two words in a sentence is to be shown, en dash is applied. I saw this used once in a book, a long time ago, but it is obviously a very rare use. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Grammar en dash en rule an en dash or en rule is wider than a hyphen and narrower than an em dash. But, as world war ii rages and people of japanese descent are forced into internment camps, mitsi is separated from dash, her classmates, and life as she knows it. In microsoft word, you can use the insert symbol command to insert a dash. If all else fails, copy and paste the dash from another document, such as this page. Depending on the sentence, the emdash can have a similar function to parentheses, colons, commas, and even semicolons. Sep 25, 2019 the em dash, aka possibly the most adaptable and intuitive punctuation mark there is, gets a lot of loveand the occasional bit of hate.
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