How To Use Dashes As Commas

Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation such as the commas after iowa and 2013 in the following examples.

How to use dashes as commas. Using the en dash to denote a connection. American psychological association notes that you would use the en dash for. When a thought is left unfinished however a dash should be used instead. In general you can think of parentheses commas and dashes as a continuum of marks. Here are a few examples of interrupters punctuated with commas.

Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. You use them to surround something that seems a bit out of place in the sentence an aside a clarification or a commentary. They are often used for emphasis to indicate a switch in tone to qualify a subject or as a side note. First the dash can be used where commas or parentheses might be used as an aside or interruption in the middle of a sentence. Joe and his trusty mutt was always welcome.

The en dash may also be used to indicate a connection between two words. When the dash is used in this way it creates a compound adjective. Sometimes it s just irresistible to include that additional information that we hope will make our meaning clearer or provide context. Interrupters are usually punctuated with commas or em dashes on both sides of the word phrase or clause. Interrupters can be used for multiple purposes.

See the following examples. You can also explore how to use other misunderstood punctuations such as the colon and semicolon. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas. Use an en dash when you need to connect terms that are already hyphenated or when you are using a two word phrase as a modifier. Let s start with those quiet parentheses.

Use a dash to cut off dialogue. Consider brushing up on other commonly used punctuation marks in english grammar. Examine these useful hyphen em dash and en dash examples. For example i never said he began when typing a completed sentence a comma precedes the closing quotation mark and the attribution. To create an en dash using a keyboard on a windows based system hold down the alt key and simultaneously type 0150.