Dash and Hyphen in English | Rules and Examples | Learn English

Dash and the Hyphen

·  Dash 

■ A mark of punctuation (—), technically known as an en dash, used to set off a word or phrase after an independent clause or to set off words, phrases, or clauses that interrupt a sentence.

■ Sometimes, however, you might wish to place special emphasis on the component, but commas are too weak to serve this purpose. If this is the case, you may wish to use dashes for added emphasis. “Linda Simpson, the president’s most trusted economic advisor, will resign her office during today’s press conference.” “Linda Simpson—the president’s most trusted economic advisor—will resign her office during today’s press conference.”

·  Hyphen 

A short horizontal mark of punctuation ( - ) used between the parts of a compound word or name or between the syllables of a word when divided at the end of a line. “His out-of-tune bagpipes are giving me a headache.”

·  Difference between Em Dash, En Dash & Hyphen

 ■ Em Dash (—) Denotes a pause in thought, a parenthetical statement, or — more casually — an afterthought.

 ■ En Dash (–) Denotes a range, especially of numbers, such as $100–150. 

■ Hyphen (-) It is used for the hyphenation of words (co-ordination; able-minded; pre- and post- touring.) 

■ Moreover, en dashes are used with spaces, hyphen and em dashes are used without them. Two other common punctuation marks are the dash and hyphen. These marks are often confused with each other due to their appearance but they are very different.

A dash

It is used to separate words into statements. There are two common types of dashes: en dash and em dash.

• En dash: Twice as long as a hyphen, the en dash is a symbol (–) that is used in writing or printing to indicate a range, connections or differentiation, such as 1880-1945 or Princeton-New York trains.
• Em dash: Longer than the en dash, the em dash can be used in place of a comma, parenthesis, or colon to enhance readability or emphasize the conclusion of a sentence. For example, She gave him her answer — No!
  Whether you put spaces around the em dash or not is a style choice. Just be consistent.

·         The Dash

·  Dashes __

·  .An en dash, named for the width of a typesetter’s n key, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used for span of time when you might otherwise use to. ¢ Examples: ¢ The years 2001–2003 ¢ January–June EN DASH

·         ·   An em dash is longer than an en dash (named for the width of a typesetter’s m key). Don’t use it just because you are uncertain about correct punctuation. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. ¢ Examples: ¢ You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me. ¢ Never have I met such a nice person

·         Dash can be used instead of a comma, a colon or a semicolon. It is mainly used to tell the reader that a group of words has been added to a previous group as a kind of an afterthought or to show that a group of words has been inserted again as a sort of last minute change of structure in a sentence.

·         Example:

·         The solution─ if it is a deemed solution─ is to get your tenant out of the house, as soon as possible.

·         ·  A dash is a horizontal line that shows a pause or break in meaning, or that represents missing words or letters. Note that dashes are rather informal and should be used carefully in writing. Dashes are often used informally instead of commas, colons and brackets. A dash may or may not have a space on either side of it. Do not confuse a dash (—) with a hyphen (-), which is shorter. 1. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence: 

     My brothers—Richard and John—are visiting Hanoi. (Could use commas.)       

 •I   In the 15th century—when of course nobody had electricity—water was often pumped by hand.(Could use brackets.) 2. Use a dash to show an afterthought:

   •The 1st World War was supposed to be the world's last war—the war to end war. 

•I attached the photo to my email—at least I hope I did!

·         ·  Use a dash like a colon to introduce a list: 

•There are three places I'll never forget—Paris, Bangkok and Hanoi. 

•Don't forget to buy some food—eggs, bread, tuna and cheese. 4. Use a dash to show that letters or words are missing: 

•They are really f––––d up. (Typically used for offensive words.) 

•I will look ––––– the children. (Typically used in "missing word" questions.)

·         · In fact, there are two kinds of dash: •the en-dash (–), which is the width of the letter "n" •and the em-dash (—), which is the width of the letter "m" However, the difference between them is rather technical and mainly of value to typographers. The dash is a convenient and easy mark to use in hand-writing. But it is often difficult to find on a keyboard and for this reason some people use the easier-to-find but shorter hyphen (-) when word- processing.

A hyphen

is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by spaces. For example, part-time, back-to-back, well-known.

The Hyphen

 A hyphen is a very short horizontal line between words. Note that there is no space between a hyphen and the character on either side of it. Do not confuse a hyphen (-) with a dash (-), which is longer. The rules about hyphens are not fixed. The points below are guidelines rather than rules. 

1. Use a hyphen to join words to show that their meaning is linked in some way: •book-case (or bookcase) •race-horse (or racehorse) •pick-me-up 

2. Use a hyphen to make compound modifiers before nouns: •a blue-eyed boy (but The boy was blue eyed.) •the well-known actor (but The actor is well known.) •their four-year-old son (but Their son is four years old.)

3. Use a hyphen with certain prefixes. The prefixes all-, ex-, and self- usually need a hyphen: •all-inclusive •ex-wife •self-control When a prefix comes before a capitalized word, use a hyphen: •non-English When a prefix is capitalized, use a hyphen: •A-frame 4. Use a hyphen when writing numbers 21 to 99, and fractions: •twenty-one •one hundred and sixty-five •two-thirds

4. Use a hyphen when writing numbers 21 to 99, and fractions: •twenty-one •one hundred and sixty-five •two-thirds 

5. Use a hyphen to show that a word has been broken at the end of a line (hyphenation): The directors requested that a more convenient time be arranged.

 6. Use a hyphen with "suspended compounds". When we use several very similar compounds together, it may not be necessary to repeat the last part of the compound: •They need to employ more full- and part-time staff. (not They need to employ more full-time and part-time staff.) •This rule applies only to 12-, 13- and 14-year olds. (not This rule applies only to 12-year olds, 13-year olds and 14-year olds.)

·  Hyphen -

·  1. To check whether a compound noun is two words, one word, or hyphenated, you may need to look it up in the dictionary. If you can’t find the word in the dictionary, treat the noun as separate words. ¢ Examples: eyewitness eye shadow eye-opener 2. Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. ¢ Examples: ¢ The teacher had thirty-two children in her classroom. ¢ Only twenty-one of the children were bilingual. RULES

·  3. Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions. ¢ Example: ¢ You need one-third of a cup of sugar for that recipe. 4. When adverbs other than -ly adverbs are used as compound words in front of a noun, hyphenate.When the combination ofwords is used after the noun, do not hyphenate. ¢ Examples: ¢ The well-known actress accepted her award. The actress who accepted her award was well known. ¢ He got a much-needed haircut yesterday. His haircut was much needed.

·   5. Generally, hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a single idea. ¢ Example: ¢ friendly-looking man (compound adjective in front of a noun) The hyphen and the dash look alike. But in the printed matter the hyphen is made shorter than the dash.

The hyphen is used

·  ·  non-smoker

·  non-alcoholic

·  non-violent

Example: green-room hand-towel tooth-paste mother-in-law

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