Whether im figuring out a way to explain the use of a semicolon. The en dash is shorter than an em dash and longer than a hyphen. If grammar is the skeleton of expression and usage the flesh and blood. An emdash is typically used as a standin for a comma or parenthesis to separate out phrasesor even just a wordin a sentence for. If you are uncertain how to insert an en dash symbol, you can use a hyphen instead. I know im not supposed to have favorites, the the grammar devotional is my.
The en dash is used in ranges, such as 610 years, read as six to ten years. When youre thinking about when to use an em dash, remember that its used for emphasis. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. I m not a native englishspeaker, so naturally i learned a lot from this book in all. And the government worked fastinternet timeto launch it and to keep it. Henry holt books are available for special promotions and premiums. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing kyle nishioka. The dash learning english grammar collins education. Forming the em dash in ms word do not use two hyphens to form the dash. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for. Grammar girl gives clear explanations with helpful examples. Therefore, you shouldnt get in the habit of using it too often. Dont leave the two hyphens if they dont merge to form the em dash. Punctuation semicolons, colons, parentheses, dash, brackets, underlining italics, and hyphens worksheet directions.
An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. In most windows programs, you can simply type 2 hyphens and an em dash will be substituted for you. Free pdf books, free ebooks, new books, books to read, erin napier, hgtv. If we can trust grammar girls thoroughness of search, then her advice is sound every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there should be. To replace a colon, for instance, compare these sentences. The proper formatting of an em dash is a long dash with no spaces on either side. We use em dashes to add emphasis to the size of the car. Hyphen and dash are at least three distinct characters. It is the longest dash, compared to a hyphen or an en dash. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens. How to write fiction em dashes en dashes and hyphens.
In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. Mignot fogarty, better known as grammar girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation.
As a book designer, one of the first things i do when designing a manuscript is to use the findchange feature to check dash usage. Grammar girl, money girl, modern manners guy, and quick and dirty tips are trademarks of. Hyphens are primarily used in compound words a 20yearold coed, the abovementioned phrase and when a word is broken at the end of a line which explains why word breaking is called hyphenation. One is called the en dash and one is called the em dash. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. Spanish english in hindi the dash easy learning grammar a spaced dash i. Insert the proper punctuation marks in the following sections.
Essentially, it is a form of pause punctuation that can take the place of a comma, a semicolon. What are the rules that describe the usage of em dash. If you find yourself wanting to throw in a little extra information about a noun in a particular sentence and are not sure whether the parentheses or the emdash is the way to go, read the sentence out loud. It can replace commas, parentheses, or colons, depending on the context of the sentence. Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after iowa and 20 in the following examples without dash.
Dashes versus colons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons, semicolons, or three dots. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. In appearance, an en dash is slightly longer than a hyphen, approximately the width of a capital n, while an em dash is slightly longer than an en dash.
Feb 6, 2012 explore realgrammargirls board grammar girl. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. Use onsite an adjective or adverb before a noun and on. A hyphen is a standard key on the keyboard of a computer. Use title case for proper nouns for example, names of people, places or organisations. My life would be less frustrating if everyone read this book. The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to the hyphen and minus sign but differs from these symbols in length and, in some fonts, height above the baseline. Otherwise, you may find yourself guilty of making funny punctuation mistakes. Find books like grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing from the worlds largest community of readers.
Em dashes no spaces this article is about em dashes no spaces enjoy your reading. The term em dash is a printers term meaning the width of the letter m. The en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen but not as long as the em dash. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easyto use guide with clear rules, realworld examples. The em dash is the widest of the three dashesits the size of an uppercase m. Em dash 4 capitalization 70 beginning a sentence or quoted sentence proper nouns titles.
The may 1, 20, edition of the ames sentinel arrived in june. Im not concerned about dangling prepositions or split infinitives, but my god, it gets to me when people misuse affect and effect, comma splice, or think that e. The en dash takes up a width equal to the letter n. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Dont replace the second emdash as some tend to with a comma or semicolon. Reviews of the grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing thus far in regards to the publication weve got grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing pdf opinions customers havent yet still left his or her writeup on the action, or not see clearly still. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash, longer than a hyphen. If your writing is filled with em dashes, you wont be able to bring attention to any one particular point. There are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes. Writing principles usagov platform style guide usagov. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of dashes and gives examples of dashes used in sentences. We use an em dash, the longer dash, a different way. An em dash, or long dash, is used in pairs, to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an understanding of the rest of the sentence.
It is, in fact, the width of a typesetters letter n, whereas the em dash is the width of the letter mthus their names. There are two different kinds of dashes, the em dash, and the en dash. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Fourth grade teacher, las vegas public school system whether you are a grammarphobe seeking guidance, a parent looking for a tutorial that your kids will enjoy and therefore use or a writer seeking a fun reference manual for frustrating recurring questions, grammar girls quick and. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for. Heres a good strategy to use when trying to decide whether to use emdashes or parentheses in your writing. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if enclosed by commas. Its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers.
Is the em dash or en dash used in writing formal or informal. It gets its name from being originally the length of the letter n as opposed to the longer em dash length of an m. Grammar girl xvii introduction xix 1grammar 1 finding subjects and verbs 1 finding verbs. To show how to wield this handy punctuation mark, ill start by comparing two sentences. Em dash this is the dash that was used all throughout the dash section of this packet. In most american print and ebooks, correct em dash formation is done by using two hyphens with no spacing, which then becomes an em dash also called the long dash in most word processing programs as you continue typing. Use one before the parenthetical information and one after it.
Em dashes are often used to set off parenthetical information. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Using em dashes instead of parentheses puts the focus on the information between the em dashes. Its now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. I can be a little annoyingly pedantic when it comes to grammar and usage. Words to use instead of very english writing skills, book writing tips, writing words. In the eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014, and on our website, we are letting the hyphen do the work of the en dash, and the em dash is simply now the dash or long dash. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. Daily tips for successful writing from grammar girl by mignon fogarty. The farlex grammar book english punctuation dashes dashes what is a dash. En dash according to wikipedia, the en dash, or n dash, nrule, etc. Em dashthats the long dash, and as grammarist says, em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence.
To make a dramatic pause to change the pace of your writing to call attention to a parenthetical phrase but be careful. News watch diversity style guide download free pdf, center for integration. The question was is the emm dash or en dash used in writing formal or informal. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon. There are en dashes short, em dashes medium, and 2. Its longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause.
You are the friendthe only friendwho offered to help me. Generally, we follow the united states government publishing office style manual spelling guidance pdf, download adobe reader, but we do use some exceptions. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. We use it most commonly to indicate inclusive dates and numbers. Putting spaces before and after an em dash is a matter of preference. Awardwinning picturebook author tony johnston presents the poignant story of a loving. Its also important that when you set off a phrase using em dashes that you used one emdash immediately after the noun the phrase is describing and one immediately after the phrase.