Many writers use a double hyphen in place of an em dash, and you might have noticed that your word processor sometimes will automatically turn them into an em dash. Most word processors have shortcuts for creating en and em dashes. It would be worth your while to search your help menu t...
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.
Proper usage of dashes demonstrates your attention to detail and commitment to clear communication. Understanding when to use em dashes or en dashes ensures precision in your writing, eliminating ambiguity and preventing misinterpretation. It showcases your professionalism and enhances the credibility of y...
The AI writing assistant for anyone with work to do Get Grammarly Table of contents What is a dash? What is an en dash? When to use an en dash What is an em dash? When to use an em dash Common mistakes to avoid when using dashes How to use a dash correctly FAQs What is a ...
Possibly the biggest use of the em-dash, as well as the easiest to understand, is using it to show emphasis on comments thatcouldbe done with commas. Before we delve into a few examples, note that a lot of times people will simply try and add em-dashes in place of commas, which is...
ensure that you are using these marks for the right reasons and following the rules discussed. Ask yourself if yourparenthetical remarkwill add nuance and insight to your writing or just confuse the reader. If it's the latter, return the dashes to your punctuation tool bag and use a comma,...
And yet, for some reason, there's no em dash symbol on a keyboard. We live in a world where the underscore is represented, but the em dash is not. It's upsetting, to be honest. Everyone has an opinion about how to use em dashes—and their shorter cousins, en dashes—but let's ...
A writing coach explains how to properly use em dashes, ellipses, and parenthesesNoah Friedman
line. Two parentheses, ( ), are generally paired and used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing. Parentheses indicate aninterrupting phrase, a word group (a statement,question, orexclamation) that interrupts the flow of asentenceand can also be set off withcommasordashes. ...
Semicolons, colons, and dashes always go outside the closing quotation mark. Periods and commas always go inside the closing quotation mark (in American English). Question marks and exclamation points require you to think about the sentence a little to determine where they go. ...