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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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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0answers
33 views
Is it correct to replace dashes with hyphens and how should it be done?
I often see sentences like this--made when people don't have the care or ability to input the correct character--where two hyphens are supposed to form an em-dash.
Based on the sizes of various dashes,...
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0answers
62 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, ...
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2answers
45 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 ...
1
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1answer
67 views
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?
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73 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?
...
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21 views
How to punctuate “eight- or nine-year-old” [duplicate]
Suppose I want to say "eight-year-old or nine-year-old" more concisely. Where would I put dashes?
Should it be:
"eight or nine-year-old"
"eight- or nine-year-old"
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43 views
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?
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1answer
46 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 ...
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0answers
14 views
Commas or long dash: Used quarter-long,— three-month,— gasoline use was analysed
Is there a difference between the two sentences? One using long-dashes and the second commas
Used quarter-long — three-month — gasoline use was analysed.
Used quarter-long, three-month, gasoline use ...
0
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1answer
40 views
'Without so much as a call or a letter – he showed up.' Is this grammatically correct?
Is the sentence below grammatically correct?
Without so much as a call or a letter – he showed up.
I know that dashes can be used to emphasize parenthetical information, but I feel as though the ...
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48 views
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, ...
0
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1answer
31 views
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) ...
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0answers
38 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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2answers
241 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 ...
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1answer
30 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 ...
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102 views
What is the correct way to punctuate a sentence with a laughter interjection?
I would like to know your thoughts on how to correctly punctuate this sentence:
When people comment how sipag or consistent I am working out during this time, I shrug it off because a. I don’t take ...
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0answers
145 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?
0
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0answers
71 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 (...
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vote
1answer
72 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?
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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.
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1answer
72 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 ...
3
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1answer
799 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 ...
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1answer
4k views
In British English, 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 English. But which of the two is more common in British English?
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2answers
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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 ...
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1answer
393 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
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1answer
53 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 ...
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1answer
46 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 ...
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vote
1answer
88 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 ...
0
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1answer
56 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....
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1answer
52 views
Student t-distribution: why the dash
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 ...
0
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1answer
881 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 ...
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1answer
447 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 ...
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2answers
81 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"?
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1answer
2k views
Which do you read x' as dash or prime?
In Japan, it is occasionally said that x' should be read as eks-prime in mathematical contexts. However, there are several cases to read eks-dash. In addition, a person says that eks-dash was ...
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3answers
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Should I use a hyphen, an en dash, or an em dash to define or introduce a word? [closed]
I have looked up online and studied usages for the hyphen, en dash, and em dash. I still haven't found an answer if I can define words with a dash in English.
The backstory on dashes defining ...
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2answers
114 views
Is it acceptable to place a comma after the em-dash in this sentence? [duplicate]
Due to financial struggles brought on by marital struggles—or perhaps it was the other way around—, the family had to forsake it as the bank foreclosed on it.
I normally wouldn't place a comma, but ...
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3answers
95 views
How would one correctly place punctuation marks in this sentence?
Moth-like, the people buzzed about: walking, driving, directing— each
to their own light.
I'm not sure whether each comma, colon, dash and hyphen are used correctly here. Please help!
Also, this ...
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1answer
121 views
Comma vs. Em Dash
Which of the following two versions is preferable, and why:
This document applies to all systems, people, and processes that constitute the organization’s information systems, including board members,...
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1answer
63 views
Colons vs Em dash ?
The designer envisions the game’s fundamental elements: the settings, characters, and plots that make each game unique, and is thus a primary creative force behind a video game.
A) NO CHANGE
B) ...
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2answers
3k views
What should I use when introducing dialogue, hyphens, en-dashes or em-dashes? [closed]
I have always use the hyphen when introducing dialogue.
-I love skating, but I'm not very good at it.
But I have recently been educated about the existence and use of en/em dashes. Now, I think I ...
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2answers
206 views
Should we use an em dash, en dash, or semi-colon
A sentence is causing some discussion in the office - it's about a Nylon product. We are not sure if we should use an en-dash, em-dash, semi-colon, or something else entirely. I thought an em-dash was ...
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1answer
1k views
Usage of en dash in a CV
I write the date in my résumé in the following format:
7/2017–present
4/2015–6/2017
8/2010–3/2015
Is this the right way to do it? I am asking because I also saw the following notation:
7/2017 – ...
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2answers
110 views
I tend to overuse the hyphen as a pause, and would appreciate some feedback on this [duplicate]
An example of the way I tend to use the hyphen would be:
Some people are genetically predisposed to build muscle - I am not one of them.
I usually do this more often when I am in a hurry. Still, I ...
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0answers
38 views
How is a dash used in English [duplicate]
Is a dash used between words in word combinations like fill up? Or is it fill-up?
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1answer
145 views
(un)conditional or (un-)conditional?
I want to write "conditional (mean imputation)" and "unconditional (mean imputation)" shorter, which of these 4 is the best way to do that? If multiple ways are correct, which is the most common (in ...
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3answers
6k views
Is the em dash used in formal writing?
Is it valid to use em dashes in formal writing? My teacher said it's informal to use em dashes under any circumstances, so I just wanted to make sure. I've gone through several related questions in ...
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1answer
3k views
em dashes and question marks
Would it be correct to use the question mark as it is written in the following sentence? "If your cousin invites you to visit—and why would he not?—I will expect your return after only nine days."
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1answer
78 views
How are dashes used when referring to the work of someone? [closed]
Example: [Artist] - [Song]
Is that little line supposed to be a hyphen, non-breaking hyphen, figure-/en-/em-dash, horizontal bar, minus sign or double oblique hyphen? Are there supposed to be spaces ...
0
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1answer
96 views
the usage of dashes before relative pronouns [closed]
I came across these two sentences:
Today, his sculptures – which spin, tilt, and sway – belong to collections worldwide.
Today, his sculptures – spin, tilt, and sway – belong to collections ...
