Generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together. Since i thought the hyphen section of marcia riefer johnstons new book, word up. Daily grammar lesson 421 mechanics punctuation hyphens. For example, in the phrase nicelooking house, the hyphen combines two words, nice and looking, into one compound adjective hyphens are also used to indicate any span or range, such as numbers, years, pages, etc.
Dash and hyphen are different punctuation marks that are in the form of small straight lines, which makes it difficult to differentiate between these two different forms of punctuation marks. Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. The en dash is reserved for compound compoundsits an overgrown hyphen. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons, semicolons, or three dots. The eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014 recognizes that there is not always agreement among the authoritative references on many of the rules of grammar and punctuation. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. To show how to wield this handy punctuation mark, ill start by comparing two sentences. We use it most commonly to indicate inclusive dates and numbers. In fact, dashes are different from hyphens, and they have a variety of forms. It can be helpful, when reading or writing, to think of the word to when you see or use an en dash. While we bow to the elegance of the emdash hats off to you, lovely. Stever robbins, the host of the getitdone guy podcast, has been writing a book, and his birthday is today. The publication manual shows specific uses for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. Learn when hyphens should be used between words, within words, and in numbers.
Dashes versus colons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. When typing, putting two hyphens together, with no spaces before or after, creates a dash. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. Each time that we speak, in order to convey a particular thought or idea, there are certain times that we would stop or pause. Sep, 2011 a colon announces that something special is about to appear. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. Aug 05, 2015 the en dash is reserved for compound compoundsits an overgrown hyphen. People sometimes use the terms hyphen and dash interchangeably, but theres a subtle distinction.
Because early comic book letterers were not aware of the typographic convention of replacing a typewritten double hyphen with an em dash, the double hyphen. Learn the uses ofand differences betweendashes and hyphens. Hyphens versus dashes whats the difference between a hyphen and dash. So, originally when i drawn it, it did look a lot closer. Sarcasm is a cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound. Hyphens generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together while avoiding confusion or. But, yes, according to to the chicago manual of style that khan academy uses, it would just go word, dash, word, then a space. A hyphen is a standard key on the keyboard of a computer.
Hyphen, en dash or em dash a hyphen is used to connect two words that function as a particular concept, or when linked together form a particular modifier. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. Find out whether you should be writing ebook or ebook. Jul 08, 2008 written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. I am talking about the emdash, which looks like two hyphens connected into one long line. In the eleventh edition, we have included rule 2 of hyphens with prefixes and suffixes. In truth, you could use a hyphen the key to the right of the 0 every time and only the strictest of grammar pedants would highlight that your hyphen ought to have been a dash. So to sum up, you hyphenate an age when its a noun or when its a modifier. Suspense with a dash of humor the letty whittaker 12step mysteries by donna white glaser goodreads author 4. The em dash and en dash are nothing more than creations from the minds of overcaffeinated geeks whose grasp of the english language is minimal at best. Irony is the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
It is, in fact, the width of a typesetters letter n, whereas the em dash is the width of the letter mthus their names. They can be used on their own or in pairs to offset a word or phrase. To the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. A colon announces that something special is about to appear. Hyphens are used to connect two independent words, so they function as one unit. A grammar expert explains when to use hyphens with ages and when to. A hyphen joins two or more words together, such as doublebarrelled names or compound words. In microsoft works, the en dash and em dash are created from the special character option in the insert menu. For clarity, many writers hyphenate prefixes ending in a vowel when the root word. 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.
It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. Plus, grammar girl provides some impressions on how hyphens can. Today ill explain the difference between dashes, commas, and parentheses. Dashes and hyphens look really similar, but they have very different functions in writing. The em dash is used to separate a thought in a sentence. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words. A hyphen is usually very short it has its own unicode character, but you can use the hyphenminus instead because it looks the same, a minus is of the same width as the decimal digits and is sometimes a little bit higher than the others, an endash takes approximately the width of the letter n or n, and an emdash takes. Dash a dash is used to indicate a break or a pause in the sentence.
The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash. Specifically, the en dash is used when signifying a range of numbers or other values. Dec 30, 2014 9 videos play all grammar mrbruff learn english punctuation. To a casual observer, both a dash as well as a hyphen are short, horizontal lines that are used to connect words or numbers in a piece of text but to someone who is a writer the. The stodgy semicolon and sinuous question mark might get thrown into the mix, but. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. If you have grammar topics youd like to see covered, please leave a comment about it. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. Difference between dash and hyphen compare the difference. I see it every day in my commercial copy editing work. A hyphens chief function is to merge two or more separate words. 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. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless.
Use a hyphen in compounds made up of two or more words used as an adjective adjectives modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. However, when i come to words such as ongoing or checkup, word tells me i need to hyphenate the words such that ongoing and checkup is shown. Although many people call the hyphen a dash, dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does.
See more ideas about teaching, compound words and grammar and punctuation. A hyphen has its own special use to be talked about in a later column. See more ideas about grammar and punctuation, teaching grammar and teaching writing. A hyphen is also used to separate syllables of a word when there is a line break, though this was more prevalent when type was set by hand rather than electronically. The emdash and endash are nothing more than creations from the minds of overcaffeinated geeks whose grasp of the english language is minimal at best. If the adjectives come after the noun, then they dont need a hyphen. If you go to the latest updates to the blue book of grammar and punctuation on our website hyphens, rule 6, you will find that we have included en dashes in the discussion. 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. Long dash vs short dash vs hyphen when to use what. First, hyphens must never be used interchangeably with dashes see the dashes section. But when youre using dashes, generally, you dont put spaces in between them, in between words. It can add a spiceor a dash, if you willto a sentence by adding emphasis to certain words and phrases. Suspense with a dash of humor the letty whittaker 12step mysteries by. Hyphens with the prefix re grammar and punctuation.
Oct 20, 2015 best e books to learn english 10 websites to learn and practice english grammar. Therefore, the dash is twice as long as the hyphen. A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. How to use hyphens with compound adjectives duration. See details about hyphens vs dashes rules explanations.
It is used to indicate a range of values or a relationship between values. Family projects business global events books fiction newsletters. The em dash and the hyphen are not the same thing at all. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. The en dash is a bit shorter than the em dash and serves a vastly different purpose when it comes to punctuation rules. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. Writers in business contexts often appear clueless when using ampersands, and they frequently get ampersand usage wrong. 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. Jan 01, 2008 to the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. Jun 02, 2009 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. It would be a better choice if that sentence were part of a mystery novel where aardvark has been attacked with chocolate pudding, and the police. Dashes are usually used to set off information that would be in parenthesis wikipedia a popular websitecan be a good source of basic information. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash, longer than a hyphen.
This video is part of our write right student podcast series. 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. Why hyphens or lack of them mean your true blue friend is a smurf and. As the chicago manual of style states, though many readers may not notice the differenceespecially between an en dash and a hyphencorrect use of different types is a sign of editorial precision and care. However, given that the hyphen is so easy to find on a keyboard, hyphens have become acceptable for ranges. Hyphens and dashes a hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements.
Its longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The differences between a hyphen and a dash are very subtle and often easily confused. A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Apr 07, 2016 when the reader is unable to distinguish between an em dash and an en dash and a hyphen, and hesitates even for a nanosecond, the degree of difficulty of reading a particular story has increased. 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 girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. The three hyphen em dash proxy was popular with various publishers because the sequence of one, two, or three hyphens could then correspond to the hyphen, en dash, and em dash, respectively. But when youre using dashes, generally, you dont put. The first contained an em dash the width of the letter m. Only a very strict grammar pedant would pull you up for using hyphens. When the reader is unable to distinguish between an emdash and an endash and a hyphen, and hesitates even for a nanosecond, the degree of difficulty of reading a particular story has increased. The en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen but not as long as the em dash. Sep 15, 2016 it can add a spiceor a dash, if you willto a sentence by adding emphasis to certain words and phrases. When people think of punctuation marks, it is usually the handy comma, the imperious colon, or the overly excited exclamation mark that comes to mind.
The dash is a handy device, informal and esentially playful, telling you that youre about to take off on a different tack but still in some way connected with the present course only you have to remember that the dash is there, and either put a second dash at the end of the notion to let the reader know that hes back on course, or else end the sentence, as here, with a period. More podcasts, including audio ones can be found on our website at writingcenter. They look the same, but have entirely different functions. Does the lowly hyphenthat dinky halfdash, that barely there. Our mission is to provide a free, worldclass education to anyone, anywhere. But it is far too strong to use words like incorrect and error for spans that are stated with hyphens. There is no space between the hyphen and the words it is joining. Hyphen, en dash or em dash english grammar, grammar. Traditionally, the endash is the same width as a letter n in a given typeface, but there are no firm.
A medical writer in austin, texas, laura hale brockway is a regular contributor to pr daily. Depending on the sentence, the em dash can have a similar function to parentheses, colons, commas, and even semicolons. Nowadays, its safe to use hyphens in ranges hyphens are not meant to be used for ranges e. I am talking about the em dash, which looks like two hyphens connected into one long line. Best e books to learn english 10 websites to learn and practice english grammar. Compound verbs are either hyphenated or appear as one word. Mar 30, 2010 the eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014 recognizes that there is not always agreement among the authoritative references on many of the rules of grammar and punctuation. Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption.
Once upon a time, a girl named goldilocks was walking through the forest and she came across a house that belonged to three types of dash. An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. He told me that his birthday wish would be for me to do a show to help him understand the difference between dashes, commas, and parentheses because it keeps coming up in his writing. There are two different dashes, the emdash and the endash. Difference between hyphen and dash difference between.
How to use hyphens grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Dec 14, 2012 if the adjectives come after the noun, then they dont need a hyphen. English lessons with adam learn english engvid 235,877 views. Emdash is double the length of endash and is used without spacing on either sides unlike in endash that requires spacing on both ends. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. They come before the noun or pronoun they modify except for the predicate adjective which comes after a linking verb and. For just singleword words, i consult this list of uk vs us spelling differences. Hyphen is used to break up words or to join different words to make compound words. Book titles with hyphens these are book titles and subtitles with hyphens. Jun 14, 2018 as the chicago manual of style states, though many readers may not notice the differenceespecially between an en dash and a hyphencorrect use of different types is a sign of editorial precision and care. Jun 15, 2010 this video is part of our write right student podcast series. Compound adjectives are two or more words that together make an adjective. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence.
If you are uncertain how to insert an en dash symbol, you can use a hyphen instead. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. Mignon fogarty, aka, the grammar girl, does point out that hyphens tend to. When to use a hyphen, an en dash or an em dash pr daily. Type these on the computer using the dash key and you will see. Depending on the sentence, the emdash can have a similar function to parentheses, colons, commas, and even semicolons.