How To Use Dashes In Middle Of Sentence
Dashes are often used to signal an abrupt change in a sentence.
How to use dashes in middle of sentence. Here are some different situations when you can use an em dash. However some people use only one dash to tack a complete sentence onto another complete sentence. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence. Dashes can also be used as parenthesis. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas.
Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons semicolons or three dots. Everything i saw in my new neighborhood from the graceful elm trees to the stately brick buildings reminded me of my alma mater. An em dash also called a long dash or thick dash is approximately the width of the letter m which is where it earns its name. The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. The words between a pair of dashes may or may not form a complete sentence.
Two dashes can emphasize material in the middle of a sentence. These dashes not only differ in length. Some style and grammar guides even permit you to write a complete sentence within the dashes. Ap style calls for a space on both sides of an em dash but most other styles including mla and apa omit the spaces. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for.
To show a range of dates times or values. This is a punctuation lesson on using dashes. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens. Confusing louie stormed into the room and took four items off the desk a pen a paper clip and two sheets of paper before leaving in a hurry. What is an em dash and when should you use it.
On both sides of a list in the middle of a sentence when that list contains commas. Do not confuse a dash with a hyphen which is shorter. Depending on the context the em dash can take the place of commas parentheses or colons in each case to slightly different effect. On a windows based system you can form an em dash on a keyboard by holding down the alt key and typing 0151 to create the em dash on a macintosh based system hold down the shift and option keys and press the minus key notes techwalla adding that alternatively you can. They also serve different functions within a sentence.