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In this lesson, we’ll take a closer look at the difference between a hyphen and a dash.
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Hyphens
- Use hyphens with compound words, e.g. twenty-seven, self-contained.
- Hyphens are also used in compound adjectives before nouns. Compound adjectives are a combination of words which together act as an adjective. Examples: I gave them an up-to-date report. My report was up to date.
- Hyphens are used to break a word which falls at the end of a line and continues on the next line.
Watch this clip:
A self-contained person is independent and not easily influenced by others.
Add hyphens where possible:
"Major General Robert "Iron Guts" Kelly is gonna perish in a full scale, blazing, all out glorious, star spangled bannered death.”
Watch the clip and check your answer:
Answer
"Major General Robert "Iron Guts" Kelly is gonna perish in a full-scale, blazing, all-out glorious, star-spangled-bannered death.”
→ full-scale - using all available resources, e.g. a full-scale investigation
→ blazing - very bright and hot, powerful
→ all-out - made with maximum effort, e.g. all-out effort, all-out campaign
compare:
all out (adverb) e.g. We’re going all out to win.
→ The Star-Spangled Banner - the national anthem of the United States
→ spangled - covered with small sparkling objects, e.g. a spangled dress
En Dashes (Alt+0150)
En dashes are a bit longer than hyphens. They are as wide as an “n”.
- Use en dashes when writing a range of numbers, dates, or times, e.g. 2010–2011, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
You can’t use the en dash if you use “from” or “between” when introducing a range.
Take a look at this incorrect example:
We are open from 11:00 a.m.–1 p.m.
Here are the correct versions of this sentence:
We are open from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.
We are open 11:00 a.m.–1 p.m.
- Use it to report scores or results of games. Example: Cal defeated USC 24–14 Friday night in Berkeley in the final game of the season for both teams.
- Use it to show distance. Example: The New York–Prague flight is very long.
- (Optional) Use it instead of a hyphen in a compound adjective if it consists of many words. hyphen → She is an award-winning novelist. en dash → She is a National Book Award–winning novelist. (example reference: link)
Watch this clip:
“Pennsylvania manhandled Kentucky”. It means that Pennsylvania completely destroyed Kentucky.
Em Dashes (Alt+0151)
Em dashes are approximately the width of an an “m”. It’s used to make a pause in a sentence. It’s stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop. It can be used instead of commas, parenthesis and even colons. Its main aim is to add emphasis.
- Use it instead of commas or parenthesis to emphasise some information. Examples: She went on holiday, the fourth one this year, with her new boyfriend. 🥱 She went on holiday (the fourth one this year) with her new boyfriend. 😐 She went on holiday—the fourth one this year—with her new boyfriend. 😱
What’s the difference?
Commas are neutral. They introduce some additional information. 🥱
Parenthesis/the brackets show that this information is not very important. 😐
Em dashes emphasise that information. Perhaps we’re judging her. 😱
- Use it instead of commas or parenthesis to simply clarify. Examples: Please contact my manager—John Smith—if you have any questions.
- Use it to replace a colon to emphasise information at the end of a sentence. The sentence will look less formal. Examples: I’ll ask you only one thing: never lie to me. I’ll ask you only one thing—never lie to me.
- Use it to replace a colon to introduce a list. The sentence will look less formal. Examples: I’ve worked with people of various nationalities: Italians, Spaniards, Brits, and Poles. I’ve worked with people of various nationalities—Italians, Spaniards, Brits, and Poles.
- Use it to replace a semicolon to emphasise the information after the em dash. Semicolons’ job is to connect two independent clauses that are somehow related. Learn how to use a semicolon here: link. Examples: I can’t bake the cake; I don’t have the ingredients. I can’t bake the cake—I don’t have the ingredients.
- It’s used to show a sudden change of thought. Examples: I was wondering if you could—I’m sorry. Are you busy? My plan was initially to exercise—oh my gosh, what an adorable dog!
Exercise
Watch the clip and insert hyphens or dashes in the transcript.
1. "For such few ingredients I'm sorry if I got it all around my face it tastes so fresh, so vibrant, so tropical. I feel energized already after that one mouthful.”
answer
"For such few ingredients—I'm sorry if I got it all around my face—it tastes so fresh, so vibrant, so tropical. I feel energized already after that one mouthful.”
Homework assignment
- Dashes and hyphens https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-colon-semicolon-and-more/hyphens-dashes-and-ellipses/e/dashes-and-hyphens