How To Use Dashes In A List
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Dashes are used to separate groups of words not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does.
How to use dashes in a list. It s an em dash before peter sellers and an en dash between 1925 and 1980 note. When the list comes first it s better to use a dash to connect the list to the clause. Em en and the double hyphen. You have to use an em dash when crediting. The vegetarian gasped in horror when he saw lining the wall of the cabin a collection of animal heads moose deer bears squirrels all dead.
Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas. Use an em dash to bring focus to a list when a sentence begins with an independent clause and ends with a list you can use a colon between the clause and the list. A good way to remember the difference between these two dashes is to visualize the en dash as the length of the letter n and the em dash as the length of the letter m. Use a dash to prepare for a list a restatement an amplification or a dramatic shift in tone or thought. 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 material between the dashes.
People aged 18 21 a sequence e g. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. The shortest and most common is the hyphen which is used for clarifying open compounds such as four armed villains as opposed to four armed villains for separating number groups in phone and social security numbers and for connecting written out fractions like three quarters. However you can also use spaced en dashes to set apart a few words in a sentence like this bit before resuming the original thought. 78 85 a z or a connection e g.
Dashes are often used to signal an abrupt change in a sentence indicating that the reader should pay close attention to what comes next. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use. Dashes can be used for emphasis in several ways. A dash can be used to add emphasis at the beginning middle or end of a sentence. There are three forms of dashes.
Its main use is to indicate a range of values e g. Using dashes to credit quotations you can use an em dash to credit a quote to someone. There used to be a real me but i had it surgically removed peter sellers 1925 1980 note. Do not overuse dashes or use them in place of other punctuation.