#Hyphen n dash m dash how to

ExamplesĬhina - the most densely populated nation on Earth - has only about two percent of the land suitable for agriculture in the world.

#Hyphen n dash m dash how to

Em dashes can be used instead, sometimes to indicate a change in thought, tone, or feeling. AugThe Types of Dashesand How to Use Them Between long dashes, short dashes, and hyphensand all of their various usesit can be difficult to keep the rules straight and stick to correct grammar in your writing. Using commas or parentheses places less emphasis on the material. An em dash is used to set off appositives from the rest of the sentence.Īn appositive is extra information about a noun that renames the noun in order to make the sentence more clear. Workplace stress - from long hours to fear of being down-sized - is reducing the productivity of the American white-collar worker. Parenthetical material is extra information about a noun that may make the sentence more clear but is unnecessary for the meaning of the sentence. In casual communication, like in email, a hyphen can be used in place of an em dash to indicate an interruption or an aside. An em dash is used to emphasize parenthetical material. I read pages 20–23 of the book for class. An en dash is used to define ranges of numbers, dates, or times. An en dash is only a singular dash, slightly longer than a hyphen, while an em dash is two dashes put together to form a longer one. The hyphen, the em dash and the en dash are the straight arrows among punctuation marks, an otherwise fairly curvaceous lot. There are two types of dashes: the en dash and the em dash. A dash is a mechanical tool used to separate elements of a sentence.