Em Dash - Getting horizonal
Aug 18th, 2008 | By John Roach | Category: GrammarThe em dash, sometimes referred to as simply a dash, is one of the most versatile punctuation marks we have in the English language. It looks like this:
—
You can enter it by typing ALT + 0151 (hold down ALT, type 0151, and release); many word processors will insert it if you type two hypens back to back. The HTML code is —.
What is the em dash used for?
The em dash is used for parenthetical expressions: expressions that aren’t really a part of the sentence.
The movie—boy was it long!—was about a boy, his dog, and post-apocalyptic zombies.
It is also used to set off a clause that the rest of the sentence refers to.
Ice cream, pickles, and chicken feathers—these are some of the things I have to get at the store.
You also use dashes when you have an overabundance of commas, or when more commas would confuse the reader.
The sculptor, who specialized in deities—Cthulhu, Nyalarathotep, and Azathoth—turned out to be a little crazy.
Em dashes and style
Chicago dictates no spaces on either side of the dash—like so—while AP gives them breathing room — like this.
And above lies one of the cardinal sins of em dashes: using more than two. If you find yourself at the end of a sentence that has more than two dashes, rewrite it; something has gone horribly wrong.
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This article was written by John Roach http://prowritingtips.com John is a writer and copy editor. You can follow him on twitter at @johnwroachiii. To see more posts click here |
Hey there! Thanks for dropping by my blog. BTW, I’m obsessed with the em dash. I seriously love it (second only to the semi-colon of course) and use it every chance I get.
If you have time, join my birthday contest. 2 books (one signed by the author herself) are up for grabs. It seems only grammar nerds like us appreciate books these days.
Miss Writes last blog post..Apostrophe Now: How to Use It
Why, hello, Miss Write.
Yes, the em dash is right up there for me, too. It’s such a big, juicy punctuation mark. So elegant and yet so useful.
I actually used to work with someone who hated the semi-colon. Not that they didn’t know how to use it — they just refused to do so.
I had no idea em dash and en dash were different–they were simply “dash” to me. They both look the same, so why two different ALT+s?
@aimomo - They’re not quite the same — the em dash is the length of an “m” and the en dash is the length of an “n.”
- hyphen
– en
— em
But don’t feel bad — the vast majority of people have never heard of the en dash and would probably mistake it for a hyphen.
Johns last blog post..How to write a résumé, Part 1: Types of résumés
Interesting. How many people go by this rule, I wonder? I’ve never even heard of it. Like I said, I thought they were the same, so I’ve used them both the same, but no teachers have ever mentioned this!
I’m willing to bet that you will never have a problem with it. The en dash, based on my experience, is really more of a printer’s mark than anything else. Most styles ignore it, which is a shame.
Personally, I think it looks nice between numbers (41–30) and should be used more often, but the distinction is so mild that most people and style guides just ignore it and focus on more pressing issues.
Johns last blog post..How to write a résumé, Part 1: Types of résumés
I see. Well, I can understand that, because people still don’t know the difference between “then” and “than” and other such words! It drives me mad. And I’m always telling people, “It’s BY accident!”
Anyway, thanks for this; interesting to know.
Hi there…
I have a question about the em dash…
I’m currently editing a long document that makes use of the unspaced em dash… I’m now changing them to spaced em dashes. However, I’ve come across a few em dashes followed by a closed quotation mark, like so: “… it’s been found amenable—”
My question is, may a space precede the em dash before that closed quotation mark? I’m not quite sure of what to do here, and searching the web hasn’t provided answers.
Thanks!
CMS 6.90 has the answer: No.
It gives the following example:
However, if a speaker is identified immediately following the quotation mark, then the comma goes between the dash and the quote mark.
Hope that helps!