Dashes and hyphens.
To the passive reader, it’s a brief horizontal line that seems someplace in a textual content, normally becoming a member of two phrases collectively.
To a author, it’s one thing else totally, however what? Is it a splash, a hyphen, or a minus signal?
Greater than as soon as, I’ve been pecking away at my keyboard and stopped all of a sudden when confronted with this versatile and confounding punctuation mark.
Many individuals use dashes and hyphens interchangeably, which is comprehensible, since most of us use the very same keyboard character for each dashes and hyphens. Nevertheless, they’re technically two utterly totally different punctuation marks.
Whenever you use these punctuation marks, are you aware whether or not you’re utilizing them as dashes or hyphens?
This submit seems to be on the following punctuation marks:
- Hyphens
- Dashes
- Em-dashes
- En-dashes
Hyphens
A hyphen is used to attach phrases with a purpose to kind a compound. It was additionally used generally through the typewriter period to point out {that a} phrase was damaged at a carriage return, however that utilization isn’t seen lately. Examples embody:
- ten-year-old
- merry-go-round
- editor-in-chief
- co-worker
- e-book
Hyphens are additionally used to indicate prefixes and suffixes when they aren’t affixed to a base phrase. An instance can be re- or -ed.
Hyphenated Modifiers
Sure modifier combos name for hyphenation. When two modifiers collectively modify one other phrase, they’re usually hyphenated. For instance, within the phrase “real-world conditions,” the phrases actual and world are related with a hyphen. Observe that actual modifies world (the world is actual) and as a single unit (a hyphenated modifier), the 2 phrases collectively modify scenario. That is normal follow when one modifier modifies one other to kind a single modifier to a noun or verb.
Observe, nonetheless, that adverb-adjective combos are usually not usually hyphenated. For instance, a “effectively understood idea” isn’t hyphenated (effectively is an adverb modifying the adjective understood).
Dashes
There are two forms of dashes: the em sprint ( — ) and the en (-) sprint.
The Em Sprint
That is additionally known as the double sprint — and rightly so — as a result of it really consists of two dashes with out spacing earlier than or after both one. Do observe that the spacing is up for debate as some type guides and writers embody a single area earlier than and after the em sprint, particularly in on-line publishing on account of points with how browsers learn and show sure punctuation marks.
The em sprint is used to evoke emphasis or to “set off a component added to amplify or to digress from the principle clause” (Publication Handbook of the APA, 2001, p. 291).
The En Sprint
An en sprint is used extra like a hyphen as a result of it connects phrases. This connection varieties a compound adjective the place every particular person phrase has equal weight. Listed here are two examples: Did you obtain the July-August problem of the publication? Will you be on the San Francisco-New York flight?
Why are they known as em and en dashes?
In typesetting, the em sprint is identical width because the letter m, whereas the en sprint matches the width of the letter n. It’s fascinating to notice that technically, a hyphen ought to be a tad bit shorter than the en sprint. Nevertheless, typewriters and computer systems solely have the one punctuation mark (proper above the p key) which should do triple responsibility (hyphen, em sprint, and en sprint), so except you’re knowledgeable typesetter, there’s no want to fret about measuring your marks.
