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. Mignon fogarty is the host of grammar girl and founder of quick and dirty tips. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens. The en dash also has an optional use when forming certain compound words, which well look at a little later. Rules on punctuation 53 pages learn the rules on the proper use of periods, commas, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, quotation marks.
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. Recall that en dashes are slightly shorter in length than em dashes. Fourth grade teacher, las vegas public school system whether you are a grammarphobe seeking guidance, a parent looking for a tutorial that your kids will enjoy and therefore use or a writer seeking a fun reference manual for frustrating recurring questions, grammar girls quick and. Apr 18, 2017 dashes, parentheses, and commas today ill explain the difference between dashes, commas, and parentheses. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing quick. Karens latest is the ya novel punch like a girl, in which a teen girl with a hero complex tries to rescue others, whether they want it or not. Slashes grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar. Presubmission basic grammar and style primer for childrens. Dashes are used to give emphasis to written ideas and are typed by using two hyphens. Mignot fogarty, better known as grammar girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. Mar 19, 2017 em dashes can be used in the place of a number of punctuation marks including commas, parenthesis, semicolons and colons andalthough many people do use them in formal writingthey are mostly suited to informal documents.
But it is far too strong to use words like incorrect and error for spans that are stated with hyphens. After months of deliberation, the jurors reached a unanimous verdict. Use the special character function in the edit content toolbar to add the correct. Our school board provides the students with free books, book covers, a notebook cover, notebook paper, yellow pads, and one pencil every six weeks. The en dash is often used to indicate spans of time or ranges of numbers.
Punctuation is one component of writing that people seldom think about or notice except when it is wrong. Its roots are germanic, but words from other languages have been added through the centuriesfrom the viking invasions and the norman conquest all the way up to the trending internet colloquialisms of the presentand then set into a grammar. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of dashes and gives examples of dashes used in sentences. Stever robbins, the host of the getitdone guy podcast, has been writing a book, and his birthday is today. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for. Using the en dash to indicate spans of time or ranges of numbers. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words. En dashes may look similar to em dashes, but they function in a much different way. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Start here for quick tips to get punctuation on track for you or your students.
For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if enclosed by commas. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. Learn how to develop a powerful writing style with verbbased prose, subordinated structures, the art of parallel structure, and more. At their worst, misused punctuation marks commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and the rest may muddle the meaning of your sentences, leaving your reader confused and frustrated. Sep 11, 2001 despite its popularity, the slash, technically known as a virgule, is frowned upon by purists. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. Usually a hyphen, or in some cases the word or, will suffice.
A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a a noun. En dashes sometimes referred to as ndashes or en rules are the preferred punctuation to indicate a range or the result of a contest or vote, or to establish a connection or conflict between two people or things. Dashes, parentheses, and commas when to use commas, grammar. Think of a colon as part of the sentence that just ambles along. Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and spelling english is a notoriously difficult language. Dashes and hyphens look really similar, but they have very different functions in writing.
Online sensation grammar girl makes punctuation fun and easy in grammar girls punctuation 911. Dashes, parentheses, and commas grammar girl offers quick and dirty tips on when to use commas, dashes, and parentheses. 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. Find books like grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing from the worlds largest community of readers. A dash is a fun and flashy way to let your reader know that there is awesomeness coming up. Previously published as part of grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Jan 01, 2008 to the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday.
Other than to indicate dates 9112001 or to separate lines of poetry celery, raw develops the jaw, it has few defensible uses. Apr 24, 2009 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. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons, semicolons, or three dots. Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless.
Although many publishing houses have their own inhouse style or grammar guides stipulating how to treat serial commas or ellipses or em dashes, the following primer will guarantee you a manuscript thats clean enough to impress any nitpicking editor even if she later changes it to reflect the publishing houses style choices. This video covers how to use both em dashes and en dashes and the difference between hyphens and dashes, to make sure youre using the dash just righthow cool. Daily grammar lesson 426 mechanics punctuation dashes. 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. Hyphens versus dashes whats the difference between a hyphen and dash. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. Their main use is to convey an abrupt change of topic or thought and they should be used sparingly. Use a dash to show a break in thought or sentence structure. The em dash can be used in place of a colon when you want to emphasize the conclusion of your sentence. Get her expert take on the differences, how to choose between them, what they emphasize in a sentence, and more. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. Available from orca book publishers, it is a canadian childrens book centre best book for kids and teens. A dash is a stronger and more informal mark than a colon.
Dashes versus colons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Oct 22, 2014 thrash the slash there have always been words that people use to show theyre coolwords like cool, which gained wide acceptance in the 1940s, unseating swell, keen, and spiffy. Yes, theres a difference between dashes, colons, and the muse. Here are the four main uses of the comma 1 to prevent misreading. 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. Unlike hyphens and en dashes, em dashes are less formal and generally shouldnt be used too much in one paragraph because of their visual impact. Dec 05, 2011 book design basics dashes, hyphens and dots the worlds greatest book posted on december 5, 2011 by dave bricker august 3, 2014 i particularly like this section on dashes, hyphens and dots because it goes beyond typographic aesthetics to explore how we can communicate more effectively as writers. Jun 02, 2009 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. Although they also have other uses, dashes and colons can both be used to introduce the next part of a sentence, and the difference between the two marks is subtle.
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