An en dash is the shorter dash–this is the one Microsoft word will often autoformat for you when you place a dash between two words without a space. The smaller en dash is the default symbol for most of us. An em dash is the longer dash—this guy can be created a few ways, you...
The rules of when and where to use which kind of dash may seem complex and hard to understand, but they don't have to. Here's your guide to how to use em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens correctly.
The en dash (–) is used to mark ranges. For example: The office is open Monday–Friday. It's also used in a few other niche instances, like hyphenating a two-word adjective (e.g., a San Francisco–based restaurant). Considering there are significant differences between an em and en...
The em dash is longer and generally used to note a break, provide drama, or give an example. Writers use the en dash like this: “To pass the class, Sally needs to score between 80%–90% on the exam.” In contrast, writers use the em dash like this: “Alex needs to pass ...
One of the primary functions of the en dash is to denote ranges between numbers, dates, or times. Example: “The conference will take place on October 10 – 12, 2023.” 2. Replacing the word “versus” Use an en dash to succinctly highlight the contrasts between different variables, grou...
numbers. These numbers can be for anything that’s being measured. It could be weight, speed, time, age, quantity, etc. Most people simply substitute the word “to” or “through” when reading a text with the en-dash in place. Let’s look at a few examples to drive the point home...
I could hear my English professor’s mantra in my mind—poignancy over word count. Em dashes can replace commas when the commas are used to offset thoughts or interject extra information. That makes em dash rules easy to remember—remember EM for “emphasize.” Here’s an example: When ...
These short 10- to 15-minute videos focus on specific tasks and show you how to accomplish them step-by-step using Microsoft products and technologies. Check back often or subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified when new videos are added every week. If you are interested in getting all ...
These short 10- to 15-minute videos focus on specific tasks and show you how to accomplish them step-by-step using Microsoft products and technologies. Check back often or subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified when new videos are added every week. If you are interested in getting all ...
because they add a bunch of nonsense code to my writing. But outside programs with their own shortcut, I never got around to learning how to write em or en dashes. This means the text editors and browsers I now do my writing in are dashless wastelands.There are online tools for creati...