Things Every Writer Should Know (but Most Don't)

Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes

It's time to get into the nitty-gritty of em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens. It isn't uncommon for writers to use these punctuation marks interchangeably, but they each have a unique purpose.

Hyphens are the shortest of the horizontal line family. They are used to form compound words, and sometimes whether or not to hyphenate is purely a matter of personal judgement, while in other cases the writing police insist that hyphens are necessary. A few examples of when you should use hyphens:

· When you're talking about a person's age: The three-year-old boy had the cutest smile in the universe.

· When you want to combine two words into one adjective.

          o The much-anticipated event fell short of expectations.

          o The blue-green paint looked awful on the building.

However, keep in mind that you don't need to use a hyphen when you're combine an "ly" adverb with an adjective. For example, you wouldn't say The highly-anticipated event; you would say the highly anticipated event.

En dashes are longer than a hyphen but not as long as an em dash (to remember the difference, just keep in mind that an en dash is as long as the letter "n," and an em dash is as long as the letter "m"). The en dash is used to replace the word "to" or "through." Examples:

For example, you could say The team won the championship 1998 – 2001. (Note that when you use the en dash, you don't need to place "from" in front of the range.)

En dashes can also be used to talk about conflicts, comparisons, or connections. Examples:

· The Mariners won the game 6 – 4.

· The Seattle – Beijing flight was delayed for four hours.

· The Hilary – Trump debate made headlines all across the country.

Sometimes, you'll see a hyphen instead of an en dash, and that is forgivable, but it isn't in-line with the strictest writing standards.

Em dashes are among my favorite punctuation marks. They're versatile and can be used for tons of stuff.

· Insert a thought into the middle of a sentence. The umbrella—which had been a gift from her grandfather—was obliterated by the first gust of wind. Commas can also be used for this purpose.

· Signal a contrasting idea or an abrupt change of thought.

                   o I love garlic—and my family members.

                   o Everything about her was gorgeous—except the booger that had somehow fallen on her chin.

· Show an interruption. "I hate—" She stopped short as the sound of an explosion cut through the air.

Another thing to note about the em dash is that if you use it in AP style, you need to put a space on each side of it. But if you're using Chicago style, you can forget about the spaces.

You won't find en dashes or em dashes on your keyboard. In Microsoft word, if you put a hyphen between two words, with a space on each side of the hyphen, it will automatically turn into an en dash. To type an em dash, type two hyphens between two words, and they'll automatically convert. However, if for some reason the autoformat isn't doing the trick, use cntrl + alt + the minus sign on the number pad to type an en dash. For an em dash, hold alt and type 0151.

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