For windows, you can hold down the ‘Alt’ and ‘-‘ key and you will get an en dash. ] There’s even more explanation: If the break belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than to the quoted material, the em dashes must appear outside the quotation marks. (An em dash, or long dash, is used: in pairs, to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an. The difference between a parenthetical comment using parentheses, and one using em dashes, is probably a matter of style. It can be used in the middle of a sentence. I'd ask that proof reader what their source is for that because. — Question Mark. If you’re operating on a Mac, the basic instructions for MS Word and Google Docs above should still apply — though you’ll have different keyboard shortcuts. An ellipsis is a punctuation mark consisting of three periods in a row. Two types of dashes are used in punctuation: the em-dash (—) and the en-dash (–). The en dash is a symbol (–) that is slightly wider than a hyphen (-). Dashes and hyphens. When interrupters fall midsentence, always use a pair of punctuation marks to surround them. By and large, an em dash serves to insert a break in your thought without ending your thought entirely. The following example from Toni Morrison’s Beloved shows both uses: “Nothing bad can happen to her. This type of dash is used to indicate a range, especially between numerical quantities like scores and dates. . Em dashes are the longest of the common dashes (I won’t be covering 2-em and 3-em dashes in this article) and are so named because they are the width of the letter “m. But it is necessary first to make the difference between a hyphen, and an em dash vs en dash. In fiction, the em dash almost always appears with no spaces around it. 7. When typing, a hyphen looks like this: (-). It is used to indicate a range of values, such as numbers, dates, and times. APPLICATION. dashes Use a true em dash inserted from the symbol menu (not one or two hyphens), and use spaces around dashes (“Jo — a Washingtonian — hates rain”). It was first. The following list shows some of the most. S. In the "Text" tab you will find the list of substitutions. the question mark. In the "Text" tab you will find the list of substitutions. 1. It is shorter than an em-dash and longer than a hyphen. An em dash is a punctuation mark used in writing to denote a break or pause. , 1 May–13 June) To divide a compound adjective with two equal parts (e. g. Use a question mark after a direct question. Think of them as shouting, speaking, and whispering. The dashes are more prominent, and thus suggest a more prominent comment. apostrophe. If you type in two hyphens/minus without a space before or after, most word processors automatically convert it into an em dash. “I didn’t expect to — “An em dash or a pair of em dashes may indicate a sudden break in thought or sentence structure or an interruption in dialogue. In the case of an actual question being asked I feel the mark would go before the em-dash. You can use a semi-colon to separate list items when an "item" is a list in itself. It's difficult for me to judge the tone of the sentence examples you used, so I can't give a specific suggestion. However, if the punctuation mark is a dash (i. If you prefer, you can configure your keyboard in Windows to accept Unicode codepoint numbers, instead of "traditional". Rule #5. Always follow the punctuation rules in formal writing to make your work clearer and more readable. The Space In French Punctuation. a) She is wearing a new yellow dress, and looks clean and neat. Em dashes are most often used in pairs to call a reader’s attention to the material they set off, making words, phrases, or clauses particularly dramatic or emotional. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. " Wikipedia has a descent overview on dashes, especially noting the differnet ways to reflect either and em-dash or an en-dash. There are two kinds of dashes, the en dash, and the em dash (long dash). The change in the second description of the clock's sounds emphasizes Isaac's unease. Em Dashes Besides being my favorite piece of punctuation, an em dash (—) is used to indicate a break in thought or sentence structure, to introduce a phrase added for emphasis, definition, or explanation, or to separate two clauses. The ellipsis suggests that Isaac cannot concentrate. It is wider than an en dash (–) or a hyphen (-). As such, it should not be followed by a period or question mark. "Three—red, white, yellow—are my favorites. Remember to: Use a colon to emphasize dialogue, show titles and time, or introduce a list. In doing so, the em dash acts similarly to commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses. And an example:There are 14 punctuation marks that are used in the English language. Writers have three choices of punctuation to set off sentence interrupters—commas, parentheses, and em dashes. is omitted in deference to the question mark". The most flexible and versatile punctuation mark—the Em Dash. In dialogue, question marks, exclamation points, and em dashes typically fall within closing quotation marks. En Dash: –. Wagon and waggon are different spellings of the same word meaning, among other things, a sturdy four-wheeled vehicle for transporting things. For Example: Weeding, planting, and watering — that’s all we did this weekend to clean up the garden. The em dash is also used for denoting an incomplete speech. In this example, the speech ends with a question mark, prioritising a comma that would normally be placed to frame the speaking phrase. 6. Most of the time you will see a space before and after this dash. The em-dash emphasizes the conclusion of the sentence, but with less formality than a colon. ) Serial Semi-Colon. The em dash triggers readers’ brains to insert a slightly longer pause, which can aid in reading comprehension. Mabel tried, despite her. The general rule is that a sentence ends with only one terminal punctuation mark. m. An alternative way of displaying speech is via the em dash. In informal writing, feet and inches are sometimes expressed as, for example, 5′ 10″ (read: five feet and ten inches). Em dash —, in Windows, with the number keypad: Alt (hold)+ 0 1 5 1. If you want more design. Parentheses diminish the importance of a phrase, while dashes enhance it. Mark said: “I am confused if I should finish them with one of the final stop punctuation marks (when, as I read, 1- every sentence must be finished by an appropriate punctuation mark [the final stop], and 2- neither the dash nor the ellipsis are the final stop punctuation marks). To create an em-dash on a Mac computer, hold down the shift and option/alt and type -. An ellipsis suggests a slight pause, as if one thing happens and then the other. 7. Em dashes join onto the words before and after—like this. “A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses. It can be used to separate the elements of a date: 10 septembre 1973 = 10. That is much better than the translation witnessed in other systems, where a bullet in a bulleted list was changed to &bull. Em dashes can be used to. To create an em-dash on a Windows computer, hold down the [Alt] key and type 0151 on the numeric keypad. Pre-electric typewriters normally had only the hyphen-width dash to apply to situations calling for em dashes, so the usual method in U. The correct punctuation would be: Jenny said, “That’s unbelievable!”. U+1F67D. Examples: 2009–2019. ] There’s even more explanation: If the break belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than to the quoted material, the em dashes must appear outside the quotation marks. Picture the em dash the same width as the letter “M” and the en dash the same width as the letter “N. Nope, no need for spaces! In US English, there should only be a space before an em dash if it’s at the start of a sentence and after an em dash if it’s at the end of a sentence. And like a colon, it can introduce a word or a clause that describes or expands upon what precedes it. If you're including terminal punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation mark), your speaker's sentence isn't being interrupted, so you wouldn't use em dashes at all. Examples:A Quick Guide to Punctuation. It may be used in place of commas, a semicolon, a colon, or parentheses. Being so versatile can create confusion if overused, therefore it is best limited to two appearances per sentence. In particular, do not use the colon-dash (:—) to introduce a quotation or a list. The other everyday use for em dashes—the one I use most—is to mark a break in thought within a sentence. Although en dashes look similar to hyphens, they have a specific purpose and meaning – en dashes connect words in place of the word “to” or “through”. These, along with the other 12, are all listed neatly and explained for you here. This suggests that a question mark is "stronger" than a period and is the mark that is retained. In Unicode, the em dash is U+2014 (decimal 8212). Once again, the em-dash adds more emphasis than the traditional punctuation mark. If you use it in academic writing, you might look unsure of yourself. Smart punctuation is an iOS feature that automatically. They are: the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, brackets, braces, parentheses, apostrophe, quotation mark, and ellipsis. The em dash is the chameleon of punctuation marks. Em-dashes in Place of a Semicolon. Thanks very much for your reply, Jennifer. Other Types of Dash. In Google docs, use insert special character. Many programs also automatically create an em dash when you type two single hyphens together. The en-dash – so named because (you guessed it) it’s the width of the skinnier letter n – is the shorter of the two. So, if a symbol is to be used, Chicago (at least implicitly) says it should be an em dash without a space. Dashes are used in the following five ways: To show in ranges for numbers or dates (e. parentheses. ”. ) when I included the Insert statement to store data retrieved from the final select statement to a table, the dash character is being replaced with another character. They are named en dashes but they are as wide as the letter N. Write an em dash. Ellipsis (…) [edit | edit source] A sequence of three dots is known as an ellipsis, which is commonly used to indicate omitted text. That said, let’s look at the two dashes and what makes them different. Nevertheless, you will have to use. Imagine someone saying the line, rather than it being inner monologue. Punctuation is the tool that allows us to organize our thoughts and make it easier to review and share our ideas. 48 The En Dash, Numerals. If the interruption occurs at the. Em dashes (—) are extremely versatile. The text won't look as good, but realistically, most people won't notice. 7 p. Many programs also automatically create an em dash when you type two single hyphens together. Another way to create them is to press and hold Alt and type 0151 on a Windows device or select Option, Shift, and the hyphen key ( ‐) on a Mac. En dashes are incredibly useful punctuation marks, used to add extra emphasis to a sentence or statement. Otherwise, confusion rather than clarity is likely. At a fundamental level, an Em dash is used to create a strong break in the structure of a sentence. Question marks, exclamation points, and em dashes can go inside or outside the quotation mark, depending on whether they’re part of the quote or not. The 3 types of dashes—hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes—often get mixed up. To insert an em dash in MS Word, you must: Type a word (don’t put a space after it) Type two hyphens. An em dash is the width of the letter "m" in the font and type size being used, and should never be used in place of an en dash or hyphen. If the list follows the independent clause, it is best to use a colon instead. The report covers the period 1998–1999. A period may precede an em dash if it is part of an abbreviation (see also 14. g. NOTE: An em dash is not a hyphen. 1. These two types of dashes serve different purposes: The EN dash, the shorter of the two dashes, is used to mark ranges. Authors can easily remember the difference. It can function like a comma, parenthesis, or colon. The word is usually spelled ether in all main varieties of modern English. Perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. BOND #2: Adverbs There are many types of adverbs, but by definition, an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. ) If I run the sql statements of the stored procedure until the final select statement only, the data look fine, dash character is still a dash character. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. 2)”Are you OK?” is a direct question. When. In formal writing, the em dash is often used to indicate a break or interruption in a sentence. 1 Answer. What is the difference between en and em dashes? The shorter en dash (–) is used to mark ranges and with the meaning “to” in phrases like “Dover–Calais crossing. Learn how to use em dashes in a sentence with these examples and best practices. Don’t overthink it—let intuition guide you. )This would usually be at the end of a phrase or sentence, which means it will be next to a piece of punctuation. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. By changing the console code page to something that does support the en dash character, such as 1252, this problem may be corrected. This method can get messy if you have more than two speakers in a conversation, so use it with care. g. The longer EM dash is used as a break or to separate additional information in a sentence. The question mark needs to go after Language. We met during the 2011 – 2012 school year. See wikipedia. In your example sentence, the question is really only complete at the very end, so the first. . The em dash is the chameleon of punctuation marks. Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Bone2pick, Dec 12, 2022. Examples. There are actually two different kinds of dashes. Acting as a comma. ” No spaces on either side of the em dash. ”. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. Type a word. For your example: “Well, I thought you—” He stopped himself. Key stroke shortcuts: em-dash = alt + 0151; en-dash = alt + 0150. Collingwood as Mr. I've found questions asking about an em dash in quoted speech, and punctuation rules for em dashes in quotes, but this question is quite different. Dashes are generally more abrupt and can signify a rapid change of topic. Punctuation marks, like words and paragraph breaks, are tools. ) The question mark can be used to indicate editorial uncertainty, either in parentheses or in brackets. The patient reported taking 15 (?) milligrams of alprazolam. Examine these useful hyphen, em dash and en dash examples. –8:30 p. 1. When using an em dash, it is important to consider the spacing around it. Use to indicate duration or continuing or inclusive numbers such as dates, times or reference numbers, use an en-dash (a slightly. You would simply end the line of dialogue, have a sentence of narration, and then have a new line of dialogue, even if it's the same speaker continuing. 9. Style guides often let you skip them. 1月—7月 "January to July", which can also be written 1月到7月, with the character 到 in place of the dash). 1973. Aether still appears as a poetic affectation, especially in reference to the word’s ancient Greek and Latin senses, but. — Este libro es mío. Fig. JAWS is the most likely of the screen readers to read these kinds of punctuation marks. They also establish a relationship between words and ideas. The word ellipsis comes from an ancient Greek word that means “to leave out. However, I can't recall an em dash being used according to your first case in modern publishing. However, some style guides, such as the Associated Press. 4. A dash can usually be distinguished from a hyphen in print by its greater length. They are useful for emotionally-loaded dialogue interruption, because emotions act quickly on the brain. Many people use these two dashes interchangeably. Use dashes and ellipses to cut sentences off. An em dash (—) is used to mark an interruption, as mentioned above (“What the—”), or material set off parenthetically from the main point—like this. g. An em dash or colon is part of the same toolkit, but they serve slightly different purposes. If that is the case, you will notice a space on either side of. When a pair of em dashes sets off material ending with an exclamation point or a question mark, the mark is placed inside the dashes. For the the complete list of the first 256 Windows ALT Codes, visit Windows ALT Codes for Special Characters & Symbols. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes. However, you can use dashes or em-dashes. The British practice (followed in most of the world) is to put the. An em-dash is used to show a break in thought—not in velocity—within a sentence (for not the greatest example). To type an en dash, press Option + hyphen (-) To type an em dash on keyboard, press Shift + Option + hyphen (-) The only problem is that to use. C-----. This little symbol is beloved. That being said, em dashes should not be used in place of hyphens or colons. ago • Edited 2 yr. Windows. Em dash—press option+shift+hyphen key. Actual output : 1993 1995 Expected output : 1993 – 1995 I have done the UTF-8 encoding in Java but still getting the same output in the excel. How to create en dashes and em dashes. Proofreading marks and symbols Although a significant amount of editing and proofreading is now done using tools such as Microsoft’s track changes feature and Adobe’s commenting tool, you may find yourself faced with traditional proofreading marks and symbols on a printed document someday. The en dash, often overlooked, is a punctuation mark that can be used in place of an em dash. When Your Punctuation Says It All (!) 364. ” En-dashes are mandatory only for public documents. Quotation from wiki ( Em dash) When an actual em dash is unavailable—as in the ASCII character set—a double ("--") or triple hyphen-minus ("---") is used. A parenthesis set off by dashes (or commas) rather than parentheses is still a parenthesis. Uses of the Question Mark; Quiz: Uses of the Question Mark; Problems with Question Marks; Quiz: Problems with Question Marks; Uses of the Exclamation Mark; Quiz: Uses of the Exclamation Mark; Problems with Exclamation Marks; Quiz: Problems with Exclamation Marks; What Are Commas, Semicolons, and Colons; Uses of the Comma; Quiz: Uses of. “What space?”. Use em dashes to do the following: Set off explanatory. Follow the end quotation mark with an em dash and the action or thought and then another em dash. F. In all uses of the en dash, you should be able to substitute the word “to” or “through” for the dash. On a Windows-based system, you can form an em dash on a keyboard by holding down the Alt key and typing 0151. It has three primary functions: to connect two words and make them into a compound, to separate parts of a word at the end of a line, and to separate a prefix or suffix from a root word. parentheses. Fiber in the U. INCORRECT: The score right now is 3 – 1. Should a question mark be used after an em dash that abruptly ends a sentence? Ask Question Asked 1 year, 2 months ago Modified 2 months ago Viewed 164 times 4 I looked through a number of the site's questions to find an answer to my problem. • Dashes are often used to introduce an. First, one is longer: The em dash (—) → which is like two hyphens joined together. The exclamation point and question mark denote strong emotion or a question, respectively. For example, don’t use a dash to begin the interrupter and a comma. Household appliances such as refrigerators and microwaves are. After three weeks of deliberation, the jury finally reached a verdict: guilty. An en dash (–), the second-longest “dash,” is used to show how a range of things in writing are related to one another. However, The Oxford Style Manual notes that “many British publishers use an en rule with. Em Dash: —. An em dash can be used for the same purpose. 89: "In modern usage, a question mark or an exclamation point—but never a comma, a colon, or a semicolon—may. The common editing choice, again supported by Chicago (6. (I usually just replace all curly single quotes with ' and all curly. As an outcome those characters are generated in the excel as shown below, which contains a kind of question mark. Comments. 🙽. Example: apple orchard–scented candle. Between independent clauses linked by a transitional expression. EM-DASH (–) – with this punctuation mark, you can introduce an explanation or specification, make a break in thought, or separate two parts of the sentence. Hold down the left. 2. An en dash is always used without any space before or after it. If you want to stop -- from being turned into — (emdash) you need to use the + button and add a new rule to replace -- with -- (replace with itself) Or, right click in a text field and go to "Substitutions" and disable "Smart. em. An em dash (—) is the longest of the three dashes and can be used to set off a break in the sentence, as well as add emphasis. Two em dashes can be used to indicate missing portions of a word, whether unknown or intentionally omitted. So I wouldn't say that the dash as an actor can perform the same roles as terminal punctuation, as periods or question marks or exclamation points, but. Comments. Alternatively, pairs of em dashes are used to mark off additionalMy question is the same as keymap swap underscore and dash, but for Windows instead of Linux. A space is used before and after the en-dash when used in literary copy. 6. Technically, the mark designating feet is a prime; the mark designating inches is a double prime. answered Jul 7, 2010 at 7:53. " "The sixth edition. Em Dashes The em dash is the longest line among these marks of punctuation (—). Use an em dash (a symbol that is longer than a hyphen) when the speaker stops speaking on their own or is interrupted. Both the colon and the em dash introduce new information that explains or builds upon something that precedes it. , page 387–459); while the hyphen is used to connect words that function together (e. Em Dash (—) An em dash is one of the three kinds of dashes that functions like a comma, a colon, or parentheses in introducing a clause. Who doesn’t like dashes as emphasis techniques? Just consider the. Or simply type two hyphens one after the other, type the word that is supposed to appear after the em dash, and press Space—the hyphens magically turn into an em dash. To type an em dash in Microsoft Word, press the Option + Shift + hyphen keys (on Mac OS). Em dash. Hyphens might look like dashes, but they aren’t dashes. In Unicode, the em dash is U+2014 (decimal 8212). That doesn't change the fact that in 60 years of reading, I've never come across a trust-worthy writer using any dash directly after a comma, nor. No commas following the em dashes. Yeah, it could be seen as completed, but in that case the em-dash adds a bit of expression that wouldn't be there without it. AP and AMA style guides are agreed: em dash goes inside the quotes, and that's your punctuation. Examples. Enter the replacement character in the Replace with text box (see figure 5). Though not necessarily a matter of punctuation, there is one important distinction between American and British usage when it comes to dates. It shows continuity between numbers and indicates that a multiword term is part of a compound adjective: “The conference runs January 2–3”; “The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists were applauded. Google Docs: Type two hyphens in a row (it will become an en dash) If you’re using Microsoft Word, you can use autoformat to create an en dash. It is longer than a hyphen (-) or an en dash (–). Em dashes can also signal an interruption or a sudden change in the direction a writer was heading with a particular sentence. Intuition is important to survival: studies show that instinct can beat analytical thinking in a crisis. You would simply end the line of dialogue, have a sentence of narration, and then have a new line of dialogue, even if it's the same speaker continuing. The term “em dash” comes from the field of typography—an “em” is a width equivalent to the height of a given font. 27, 2015. Notice in these examples, the em-dash has no spaces around it, while the en-dash does. It gets its name from its size which is the. Very heavy reverse solidus. g. Type a single dash or hyphen. But in that case the dash is supposed to be the length of the omitted word, not just a mere em-dash. In fact, the em dash is named after its length—it’s. Learn how to use em dashes in a sentence with these examples and best practices. ex. This usage explains the dialog part of your question. Look at my use of em dashes in this post, aside from the previous sentence. Modern Japanese uses the question mark in the same way English speakers do to denote a question, be it typed or handwritten. ” But the width of the two dashes isn’t the only thing that separates the two. To punctuate dialogue correctly, there are a few rules you should know: The correct use of quotation marks. Some word processing programs read the two hyphens automatically as the single mark of punctuation known as. Like the em dash, the en dash is typically available on your word processor’s symbol map, or it may even be inserted automatically by your word processor when you type inclusive numbers or dates with a hyphen between them. (stenoscript) When used as punctuation, an en or em dash is doubled, like a long ⹀, to distinguish it from its phonetic use. The raya (em-dash) usually indicates separation; for example, it signals interventions of. It depends on one thing: trust. In short: the em-dash cannot be used in Spanish like any of those English examples, except perhaps 2(a). En Dash Examples. Character encoding is a link between the visual representation of a character (like a registration mark or em-dash) and the bytes that store them in memory. Resume the dialogue with another opening quotation mark, complete the dialogue, and end with a period and a closing quotation mark. . ColonsFrom The Punctuation Guide : “The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. (it will become an em dash. For example: It depends on trust — it always has. ”Command for an Em dash on a mac : Shift-Option-Hyphen; Command for an Em dash on Microsoft Word : Alt + Ctrl + (minus) Em dash in HTML : — or — En Dash. Typesetters will most likely try to track you down and beat you to death if they. The shift from em dash to en dash reflects contemporary writing practice and the new focus on digital content. By Jessica Bennett. , em dash, en dash, or hyphen), you should put the footnote marker before it. It is used in place of ‘to’ or ‘through’. Em dashes are most often used in pairs to call a reader’s attention to the material they set off, making words, phrases, or clauses particularly dramatic or emotional. Share. ManhattanMss New Member. , “fast-paced,” “shake-up,” “four-year-old,” “post-punk. This method can get messy if you have more than two speakers in a conversation, so use it with care. Actually, the rules are fairly set on spaces before or after an "em-dash" -- you don't use them. -Em dashes mark an interruption or break in thought. Some authorities include a space between the uncertain word and the opening parenthesis; others omit the space (as shown in the example below).