Dashes
The first thing to know when talking about dashes is that they are almost never required by the laws of grammar and punctuation. Overusing dashes can hack the flow of your writing, making it choppy or maybe difficult to follow, so don’t overdo it.
It’s also important to differentiate between dashes and hyphens. Hyphens are shorter lines (-); they’re most frequently wont to show connections between words that are working as a unit (for example, you would possibly see adjectives like “well-intentioned”) or to spell certain words (like “e-mail”).
With that background information in mind, let’s take a glance at some ways to place dashes to figure in your writing.
- To set off material for emphasis. Think of dashes as the opposite of parentheses. Where parentheses indicate that the reader should put less emphasis on the enclosed material, dashes indicate that the reader should pay more attention to the fabric between the dashes. Dashes add drama—parentheses whisper. Dashes are often used for emphasis in several ways:
A single dash can emphasize material at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Example: After eighty years of dreaming, the elderly man realized it had been time to finally revisit the land of his youth—Ireland.
Example: “The Office”—a harmless TV program or a dangerously subversive guide to delinquency within the workplace?
Two dashes can emphasize material within the middle of a sentence. Some style and grammar guides even permit you to write down an entire sentence within the dashes.
Example: Everything I saw in my new neighborhood—from the graceful elm trees to the stately brick buildings—reminded me of my school .
Example (complete sentence): The students—they were each over the age of eighteen—lined up within the streets to vote for the presidential candidates.
Two dashes can emphasize a modifier. Words or phrases that describe a noun can be set off with dashes if you wish to emphasize them.
Example: The fairgrounds—cold and wet within the October rain—were deserted.
Example: Nettie—her chin held high—walked out into the storm.
- To indicate sentence introductions or conclusions. You can sometimes use a touch to assist readers see that certain words are meant as an introduction or conclusion to your sentence.
Example: Books, paper, pencils—many students lacked even the only tools for learning in nineteenth-century America.
Example: to enhance their health, Americans should critically examine the foods that they eat—fast food, fatty fried foods, junk food, and sugary snacks.
- To mark “bonus phrases.” Phrases that add information or clarify but aren’t necessary to the meaning of a sentence are ordinarily depart with commas. But when the phrase itself already contains one or more commas, dashes can help readers understand the sentence.
Slightly confusing example with commas: Even the only tasks, washing, dressing, and getting to work, were nearly impossible after I broke my leg.
Better example with dashes: Even the only tasks—washing, dressing, and getting to work—were nearly impossible after I broke my leg.
- To break up dialogue. In written dialogue, if a speaker suddenly or abruptly stops speaking, hesitates in speech, or is stop by another speaker, a touch can indicate the pause or interruption.
Example: “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about,” denied the politician.
Example: Mimi began to elucidate herself, saying, “I was thinking—” “I don’t care what you were thinking,” Rodolpho interrupted.