Questions tagged [dashes]

The dash is a family of punctuation marks which are not part of a word, but resemble long hyphens in appearance.

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Usage of dash, grammar

There are two sentences : Cat is a small animal with soft fur that people often keep as a pet. Cat — a small animal with soft fur that people often keep as a pet. Is the second one correct from ...
Jess3032's user avatar
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2 answers
62 views

Which punctuation is best for connecting the latter longer clause in this sentence, or is the comma splice okay? [closed]

I am proofreading a colleague's work. And I know that you should use a connective/conjunction to join two clauses together rather than a comma splice, and so, in the past I have made such corrections ...
MarkB's user avatar
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3 answers
84 views

A colon vs. A dash in a sentence

I came across this question while studying for the SAT. After World War I, Percy Spencer was hired to work in the research _____ later known as Raytheon Manufacturing. A) lab of American Applicance ...
Kyle S's user avatar
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1 answer
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Which dash to use in citations while writing "number"? [duplicate]

Consider the following citation: Dasgupta, P. (1992). Pronominality and deixis in Bangla. Linguistic analysis, 22(1–2). This represents 22nd volume of the concerned journal and 1–2 number. I am ...
Niranjan's user avatar
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Do I put any kind of dash here? [duplicate]

If I say "This removes block breaking particles." when talking about a very popular block game (the game causes particles to appear when you break blocks), do I use a dash between the two ...
english123124142's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
25 views

Am I appropriately using dashes?

"I’m confident I’d excel in the position due to my prior experience and my involvement in extracurriculars-- learning to communicate with people from a variety of backgrounds and understanding ...
Antonio's user avatar
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Parenthetical element: Comma or dash? [duplicate]

I am unsure when to use comma and when to use dashes when writing parenthetical elements in as sentence. For instance: He answered - or at least he tried to answer - the question correctly. He ...
Wasd9595's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
48 views

Use of (em) dash immediately after dot - what difference does the dot make?

The first paragraph of chapter 112 of Herman Melville’s famous 1851 novel, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, concludes as follows: And so it was. — Most miserable. Is it valid? Why not omit the dot, and ...
Zakum's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
155 views

How would you abbreviate weekday schedules like "M-F" to less than 3 letters per day if the days contain Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and/or Sunday? [closed]

In some apps, there is a character limit, so instead of abbreviating something like "Tue-Thu" or "Sat-Sun", a few characters can matter, so I was wondering what the best way to ...
CreativiTimothy's user avatar
11 votes
4 answers
3k views

What's the best way of being clear that a dash ("–") is being used as subtraction in a written message? [closed]

When writing technical emails, it's quite common for me to need to include simple mathematical formulas. I find it hard to clearly include subtractions because dashes are so commonly used as generic ...
Matt's user avatar
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Writing a name after a dash

In my thesis, I want to thank my friend "XY". So I was wondering if it is correct to write the following: Lastly, I want to express my most profound appreciation to the person who was there ...
Bond007's user avatar
1 vote
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Author - Title vs Title - Author when referring to a work [closed]

Is there a convention on whether to place the title of a work or the author of a work first when referring to the work? I'm thinking mostly for titling notes/files on the work, or for categorizing ...
Jack Maloney's user avatar
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1 answer
87 views

Em dash to introduce a quote

Is it fine to introduce a direct quote with an em dash? I want to briefly summarise a quote, while still giving it in full. Something like: However, Smith (2021) argued that foo can in fact improve ...
Michal Charemza's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
183 views

—Beginning Sentences with a Dash

One thing that has always perplexed me while reading philosophy is the odd use of punctuation. — Namely, the use of em dashes to begin a sentence. I find this most prevalent in Hegel and Wittgenstein ...
John Smith's user avatar
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126 views

Should machine-stitch and hand-baste as verbs have a dash?

I'm wondering if anyone knows the correct way to write the following compound verbs: machine-stitch and hand baste? I found that machine-stitch as a verb has a dash, logic would tell that hand-baste ...
Rimma's user avatar
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How can I use a dash to interrupt a quote with an action?

A few times recently I've wanted to interrupt a line of dialogue with a non-dialogue interjection. Here are some examples. Alice argued: "Nobody knows what happened to the eggs last night. ...
Dan B's user avatar
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Hyphen and en dash usage in adjectives such as "human–animal"

I noticed a possible editorial error in Nature magazine concerning this. These two headlines here and here use en dashes and hyphens for the adjectives "human–animal" and "human-animal&...
Ge To's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
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What is the effect of using dashes between each word in a sentence?

In The Bluest Eye, there is a quote: Grown people frowned and fussed: 'You-don’t-know- how-to-take-care-of-nothing. I-never-had-a-baby-doll-in-my-whole-life-and-used-to-cry-my-eyes-out-for-them. Now-...
Grapes's user avatar
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2 answers
178 views

N-times differentiable function should go with hyphen? [duplicate]

Suppose that I would like to say "Let f(x) be an N-times differentiable function." Should it be "N-times" or "N times", and why?
null's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is the em dash appropriate in place of a comma?

I am trying to learn the rules for the em dash. My colleagues and I were having an argument about this. One wrote this sentence for his students We have just derived a fundamental trigonometric ...
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1 answer
166 views

Em dash next to displayed equation

I want to use an em dash to set off a parenthetical text for emphasis. However, the text in question is adjacent to a displayed mathematical formula. What is the proper way to do so? I am aware that ...
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2 votes
0 answers
533 views

Can I use a dash to replace a repeating verb?

In my language (Bulgarian) you can use a dash to replace a verb that you have already used in the same sentence. For example: The distance from London to Paris is 500km, from Paris to Munich — 850km, ...
Kard Nails's user avatar
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2 answers
95 views

Dashes to provide parenthetical information to an item in list - example from BBC?

Quoting the BBC website at https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-51047186 It was understood the couple would continue to receive money for a time from Harry's father under the new agreement, although ...
k1eran's user avatar
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What does the use of a double em dash signifiy?

When watching The Man who Laughs (1928), at 40:14 the line, also pictured below, "Hey — — we saw her first!" appears. What does the use of a double em-dash signify here?
TomDot Com's user avatar
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1 answer
99 views

Which is better here, colon or dash?

Their style favors texture and timbre over more familiar and comforting musical elements; there is no beat, melody, or rhythm – only techno-cacophony. Can I switch the dash for a colon, like this? ...
chris's user avatar
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1 answer
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Can you use a dash to separate two complete sentences?

The term was from her party days - she always looked for a way to incorporate party slang into our lives. Should there be a dash there?
Zulfiyya Alizada's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
81 views

Does the em dash take precedence over the comma?

In a sentence like: While I would love to do A, I cannot wait to do B. If I add a set-off clause right before the comma, which of these is correct? While I would love to do A—for reasons X—I cannot ...
Arnav Das's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
143 views

Is the sentence ‘Without so much as a call or a letter – he showed up‘ written with acceptable punctuation?

Please consider: Without so much as a call or a letter – he showed up. Is sentence (1) above not only grammatical in syntax and morphology, but also acceptably punctuated according to guidelines for ...
d.c.t's user avatar
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Should I use a suspended hyphen here? "A group of five-to-nine-year-olds did it," or a "A group of five- to nine-year-olds did it"?

The title pretty much sums it up. Which of the following sentences is correct? "A group of five-to-nine-year-olds did it." "A group of five- to nine-year-olds did it." Moreover, ...
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1 answer
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How to explain punctuation in these 3 cases?

I had a test task for the position of freelance writer for sewing website. I did the writing part, but they asked me to explain some points in my text. How can I prove punctuation in a), b) and c) ...
TiWill's user avatar
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0 answers
51 views

Using an en dash to separate a page and line range

When writing a range of pages and line numbers, would I use an en dash to separate the range, or is it more appropriate to use "through" in this situation? Refer to page 12, line 3–page 13, ...
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0 votes
2 answers
715 views

What does "such as they were" mean?

In this sentence: She did not want to meet Lettuce. That was a rare feeling for her; she would usually never avoid anybody, but Lettuce was somehow different. Was it just dislike, or was it ...
Harry Che's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
33 views

When to use em dashes in place of commas

To minimize transmission—which mainly occurs through the inhalation of infected droplets, many countries have enacted nationwide lockdowns, closing all but ‘essential’ businesses and putting most ...
John Tremain's user avatar
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0 answers
264 views

'Machine learning or robotics related' hyphenation?

How should 'Machine learning or robotics related technologies' be hyphenated? Machine learning[en dash] or robotics[hyphen]related technologies?
ModernGnome's user avatar
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0 answers
95 views

colon or dash? punctuation

Please suggest the correct punctuation at points 1, 2 and 3 in the following sentence: If you had to write an article, for example, reporting on events in any institution which cares for people (...
highvit's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
102 views

Do the words "en dash" and "em dash" require a hyphen? [duplicate]

I have seen the compound words "en dash" and "em dash" sometimes appear with a hyphen ("en-dash") and sometimes without. Are both the hyphenated and the unhyphenated forms correct?
Eliza Wilson's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
963 views

punctuation: the 20 to 30 year old age group

I'd like to know how "the 20 to 30 year old age group" is punctuated in standard English. "30-year-old" should be hyphenated. What about "20 to 30"? Any principles at work? I'd appreciate your help.
Apollyon's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
165 views

What do you do with a comma that would come after a dash?

One common use of em dashes is to offset parenthetical phrases. But if a comma outside the parenthetical phrase immediately follows the parenthetical, what do you do with the comma? I realize that ...
mprogrammer's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why are place names in some old books a capital letter followed by dashes, and what is this phenomenon called?

This is something very odd I have noticed in some older books, most recently in "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky. Place names, when not specifically essential or well-known, are made up of one ...
Jim's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
6k views

In Britain, which is more common — the em dash or the en dash?

I'm reasonably certain the em dash is more common than the en dash in American publications. But which of the two is more common in British publications?
BloodyCurious's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
237 views

How to write a dash

My teacher wants us to write essays with "MLA formatting," and I was wondering whether a dash should be written in MLA as two keyboard "minus signs" aka hyphens (--) or use the actual special ...
HelloPeople99's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
757 views

Dictating hyphen or dash over the phone

How should I dictate hyphen in email address or url over the phone ? My email is gabriel hyphen glenn at gmail dot com My email is gabriel dash glenn at gmail dot com
Gabriel Glenn's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
108 views

What punctuation should you use after a list?

What punctuation should you use after a list and before describing the list? In the example below, what should I use where I have used a dash? Or is the dash correct? "Some examples of Apple’s ...
Tony's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
74 views

Do I use a dash or a semicolon here, or something else entirely?

Is it "In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara--bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing" or "In other words, you can compare my existence in ...
Matthew Graham's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
94 views

Is the folllowing sentence correctly punctuated?

Could someone please tell me if I've correctly punctuated the following sentence (specifically, if I've correctly used the dash and commas highlighted bloew)? Also, is the period at the end of the ...
Alex K's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
134 views

Use of comma before the words "irregardless", "where" and after a period in time

I'm unsure as to whether or not to include a comma within the two sentences outlined below (I've bolded the specific sections). In the first sentence, I have a feeling a dash might be more appropriate....
George K's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

Student t-distribution: why the dash [sic, EA; hyphen]

In statistics, the t-distribution is important. It is an approximation to the normal distribution. Of course we don't say "normal-distribution" (with the dash). Well then, what exactly is the ...
Bjørn Kjos-Hanssen's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Dashes in lists

As a mathematician I often have to explain the notation in my writing. For example, I write: "F denotes my favourite function, A - a beautiful set and K - an important kernel." Should I use dashes ...
Paula's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Dash after the prefix "non"

Is the hyphen that we often see in words such as "non-zero", "non-trivial", etc. optional? In case the answer is negative, is there any rule of thumb on which one may rely in order to recall when ...
José Hdz. Stgo.'s user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
104 views

from [time]-[time]

I see people using expressions such as "join us from 10am-2pm on January 3" or "we are going from January-May." Should "from" be there since there is no "until" or "to"?
Kat's user avatar
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