How To Use Dashes And Colons

Explain dashes and when they are commonly used.

How to use dashes and colons. Use a dash in place of a colon use an em dash instead of a colon when you want to emphasize the conclusion of your sentence without giving it all of the connotations that a colon brings. The meeting is scheduled to run from 4 30 5 45. The short dash used to show a syllable break or to form a compound term such as in class assignment. After all the dash adds the same length of pause as a semicolon but without the risk it s almost impossible to screw up. We use colons in writing for five things.

Colons enable a writer to introduce a clause that amplifies whatever came before the colon. It will explain instances when it is appropriate to use colons and dashes according to style and audience. The words after a colon define or clarify what came before the colon. When you want to generate strong emotion in your writing or create a more casual tone use em dashes. We use colons for five things would make a perfectly good sentence.

Yet after witnessing the semicolon being used incorrectly more often than not i prefer to simply recommend the dash instead especially as i have a fondness for it as my overuse of it in this article alone indicates. Hyphens en dashes and em dashes. And dashes are particularly useful for setting off items in a series that are already separated by commas. Colons dashes hyphens and parentheses 1. A dash also introduces extra material but well a dash is quite a dramatic punctuation mark.

They are more formal than dashes. Some authors such as novelist kurt vonnegut jr would prefer to do away with the semicolon altogether. The sentence above is the perfect example. These three punctuation marks semicolons colons and dashes are most effective when they re used sparingly. A dashing young man is certainly not an ordinary young man and if you re dashing off to the store you re not just going to the store you re going in a flurry.

A colon is used at the end of a complete thought to introduce a list an explanation or a formal quotation. A dash can add extra information and is more flexible in this way. A colon informs readers that something more is coming along. Do not use a colon if the list or explanation is connected to the sentence without a complete stop. There are three kinds of dash type punctuation.