Em dash. Uses of the Question Mark; Quiz: Uses of the Question Mark; Problems with Question Marks; Quiz: Problems with Question Marks; Uses of the Exclamation Mark; Quiz: Uses of the Exclamation Mark; Problems with Exclamation Marks; Quiz: Problems with Exclamation Marks; What Are Commas, Semicolons, and Colons; Uses of the Comma; Quiz: Uses of. You did not tell us which hyphen you use, see answer from MT0. ”. ] There’s even more explanation: If the break belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than to the quoted material, the em dashes must appear outside the quotation marks. Aether still appears as a poetic affectation, especially in reference to the word’s ancient Greek and Latin senses, but. “November Cotton Flower” by Jean. ". In British usage, we use only a single hyphen to. Other Types of Dash. Don’t use end quotes between paragraphs of speech. The question mark can be followed with a dash where necessary: He left—would you believe it?—immediately after the ball. An em-dash can be used alone, as in this example from the online The Punctuation Guide: After months of deliberation, the jurors reached a unanimous verdict—guilty. Think of them as shouting, speaking, and whispering. An em dash or a pair of em dashes may indicate a sudden break in thought or sentence structure or an interruption in dialogue. Ellipsis, dash, and colon. An em dash (—) is used to mark an interruption, as mentioned above (“What the—”), or material set off parenthetically from the main point—like this. , May–December or 1995–2020) or pages (e. Household appliances such as refrigerators and microwaves are. However, there is a specific use native speakers give to this Spanish punctuation mark: in emails or letters, greetings are written using colons, whereas in English you usually use a comma unless you’re being very formal. Perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. Upon firing the company’s non-salaried employees—and. left single quotation mark: 146 ’ right single quotation mark: 147 “ left double quotation mark: 148 ” right double quotation mark: 149 • bullet: 150 – en dash: 151 — em dash: 152 : ⃜ : small tilde: 153 ™ trade mark sign: 154 : š : Latin small letter s with caron: 155 › single right-pointing angle quotation mark: 156 : œ. Some word processing programs read the two hyphens automatically as the single mark of punctuation known as an em dash, which the program will process as this: (—). g. Dashes are used to separate two words into statements. On the other hand, the em-dash works in full sentences and can take the place of commas, colons, and. This method can get messy if you have more than two speakers in a conversation, so use it with care. En dashes are used to indicate relationships or interactions and ranges. Commas and parentheses vs. The em is the longest in the dash suite. Note, however, that if the quoted material itself ends with a question mark or exclamation point, the. ex. Should a question mark be used after an em dash that abruptly ends a sentence? Ask Question Asked 1 year, 4 months ago Modified 4 months ago Viewed 168 times 4 I. When Your Punctuation Says It All (!) 364. 5. The ellipsis suggests that Isaac cannot concentrate. The Spanish names for the hyphen, en-dash and em-dash are guión, semiraya o raya menor, and raya, respectively. In particular, do not use the colon-dash (:—) to introduce a quotation or a list. Aether (or æther) is an obsolete spelling of the noun with various definitions relating to air, chemical compounds, and nonexistent clear elements filling outer space. The final, foolproof way to type an em dash in Word is to go to the. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a dash as “the mark (—) used to separate parts of a sentence. Two em dashes can be used to indicate missing portions of a word, whether unknown or intentionally omitted. Dashes. Resume the dialogue with another opening quotation mark, complete the dialogue, and end with a period and a closing quotation mark. The question mark can be followed with a dash where necessary: He left—would you believe it?—immediately after the ball. g. We use ellipses to indicate omissions of words, phrases, or even whole sentences. Em dash is an impressively versatile punctuation mark that can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons, depending on the context. An alternative way of displaying speech is via the em dash. Although these punctuation marks look similar at a glance, they are actually distinct punctuation marks with specific intended uses and with distinct unicode character values. They represent something. Em dashes can be used to replace pairs of commas and parentheses. nouns followed by numerals or letters. However, despite its flexibility, it can only be used. This usage explains the dialog part of your question. If you're including terminal punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation mark), your speaker's sentence isn't being interrupted, so you wouldn't use em dashes at all. Ellipses for omitted material spanning two or more sentences. Windows. , page 387–459); while the hyphen is used to connect words that function together (e. Always follow the punctuation rules in formal writing to make your work clearer and more readable. Nevertheless, you will have to use. The misplacement of periods and commas is the most common mistake writers make when punctuating dialogue. Em Dashes. ) To offset additional information just like commas and. 1986–1998Tip. , long-term, red-haired). For instance, we could use em dashes in place of commas or parentheses: One of the twins—she couldn’t tell them apart—ran to greet her. ) Serial Semi-Colon. Em dash character is not a part of ASCII character set. The general rule is that a sentence ends with only one terminal punctuation mark. Using Em Dashes (–) and Em Dashes (—) There are two different kinds of dashes: (1) en dashes and (2) em dashes. Very heavy reverse solidus. Question marks, exclamation points, and em dashes can go inside or outside the quotation mark, depending on whether they’re part of the quote or not. The hyphen is used to connect words, such as in compound adjectives or to divide words at the end of a line. An em dash is a punctuation mark that can be used to replace commas, parentheses, colons, and semicolons. When typing, use two hyphens together without spaces to form a dash. And Words into Type, third edition (1974), without referring explicitly to dashes, also agrees: Direct questions. Windows. Follow the end quotation mark with an em dash and the action or thought and then another em dash. The – is called an en dash. 89 Em dashes with other punctuation; 6. ColonsFrom The Punctuation Guide : “The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Enter the replacement character in the Replace with text box (see figure 5). Em dash shortcut 3 (Mac): If you are on mac, below is a shortcut to help you type the em dash sign in Word. Sometimes, the comma indicates a pause that would occur if the sentence were spoken aloud. One other exception is dialogue, where authors will. Punctuation marks, like words and paragraph breaks, are tools. "-", the line in notepad will look like this for e. If it helps, picture the em dash superimposed on the letter “M” and the en dash superimposed on the “N. The quotation marks indicating Isaac's thoughts emphasize his uncertainty about the future. The en dash is spaced so screen readers don’t mistake an unspaced en for a hyphen. A single em dash character or a tilde may also be used. Look at it. The correct use of question and exclamation marks. They are usually used in two different ways. The patient reported taking 15 (?) milligrams of alprazolam. Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes fall inside or outside closing quotations. ” The answer given does not answer his question. Between independent clauses linked by a transitional expression. They are named en dashes but they are as wide as the letter N. An en dash is. It then gives two examples, the second of them demonstrating that "the period . Thanks very much for your reply, Jennifer. One is to connect continuing, inclusive numbers. Em dashes can also signal an interruption or a sudden change in the direction a writer was heading with a particular sentence. Punctuation Em-dash before question mark. m. According to CMOS, “in British usage, an en dash (with space before and after) is usually preferred to the em dash as punctuation in running text. Pre-electric typewriters normally had only the hyphen-width dash to apply to situations calling for em dashes, so the usual method in U. They can add more information to a sentence making it clearer and easier for the listener to imagine what is being described in detail. The president’s speech both began and ended with the word “freedom. In modern usage, a question mark or an exclamation point—but never a comma, a colon, or a semicolon—may precede an em dash. The em dash shows the break in thought and is clean and abrupt. Hyphen A handy guide full of rules and examples so you can use the hyphen with confidence. Example: apple orchard–scented candle. 2. While the em dash is used to indicate a sudden break or interruption in a sentence, the en dash is primarily used to show a range or connection between two elements. I use the alt code - alt+0148. An em dash (—), the longest “dash,” is used as a substitute for a comma, colon, semi-colon, or parentheses and emphasizes information. Collingwood as Mr. But it is necessary first to make the difference between a hyphen, and an em dash vs en dash. A. ; fibre everywhere else. Original text in html page Click the Edit button to change a field's label, width and type-ahead options Replace text in html page Click the Edit button to change a. The hex number is case-insensitive,. An em dash or a pair of em dashes may indicate a sudden break in thought or sentence structure or an interruption in dialogue. Check out all the nuances of this tricky punctuation mark. Microsoft Word shows the em dash as soon you press enter after finishing the. 6 Dash [UEB §7. To create an em-dash on a Mac computer, hold down the shift and option/alt and type -. Infographic: How to use an em dash. Em dash character is not a part of ASCII character set. It shows continuity between numbers and indicates that a multiword term is part of a compound adjective: “The conference runs January 2–3”; “The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists were applauded. To create the em dash on a Macintosh-based system, hold down the Shift and Option keys and press. Type another word. I am thinking the product_code value may actually contain an -en-dash- or an -em-dash- or something other than 0x2D that is getting displayed correctly (somehow) with the combination of CubeCart, PHP, the web server and the web browser. In the native Mac word processor, Text Edit, you’ll have access to the. On a Windows-based system, you can form an em dash on a keyboard by holding down the Alt key and typing 0151. ” But the width of the two dashes isn’t the only thing that separates the two. More Punctuation Rules Read all about the most common and rare punctuation marks, from question marks to em dashes and parentheses to interrobangs. The longer EM dash is used as a break or to separate additional information in a sentence. 2. The em dash (—) is twice as long as the en. Example. For example: The company’s profits have been steadily declining over the past year — a trend that is cause for concern. Use an em dash to join independent clauses. It can function like a comma, parenthesis, or colon. Em Dash: —. In all uses of the en dash, you should be able to substitute the word “to” or “through” for the dash. A Hebrew period in a traditional serif face usually looks like a tiny tilted square (a diamond; ). Two hyphens typed together form a dash: (--). Em dashes can also signal an interruption or a sudden change in the direction a writer was heading with a particular sentence. ”. Em dash—press option+shift+hyphen key. • Dashes are often used to introduce an abrupt change of thought, while parentheses add information. An em dash is often used to indicate a break in thought in a sentence. The patient reported taking 15 (?) milligrams of alprazolam. An em dash is preferred to divide elements within a sentence and pack a punch. Em dashes can be used in the following ways: 1. For a fuller understanding of the em dash, I quote the CMOS Online in full:7. Examples of when to use an en dash include the following: pages 10–25. a) She is wearing a new yellow dress, and looks clean and neat. For windows, you can hold down the ‘Alt’ and ‘-‘ key and you will get an en dash. […] All water from the streams; dead birds were found In wells a hundred feet below the ground Such was the season when the flower bloomed. An em dash creates an interruption in a sentence like a semicolon, but with flair (we’re partial). I wasn’t exaggerating when I said the em-dash was versatile—it can even take the place of the semicolon. Guion Largo o Raya – Em Dash. First type a period (or question mark or exclamation mark) immediately after the word before the ellipsis; then type three spaced ellipsis points. 6. HTML Escape Characters. Just consider the following guidelines: • Note that em-dashes are more emphatic than commas. Writers have three choices of punctuation to set off sentence interrupters—commas, parentheses, and em dashes. He worked in his office-cum-dining room. SQL*Plus inherits character set from. If you format it properly—like this—it counts the words on both sides of the dash as just one word. There is nothing wrong — informally at least — with using a dash after a question. C-----. Most commonly, a dash connects an independent clause with another, with a related thought plus a conjunction like or, but, yet, as, for, and after the second dash. (I usually just replace all curly single quotes with ' and all curly. I tried using sharpkeys but it wouldn't let me use a chord, only single key press. The good news is that the ACT isn’t going to test you on the differences between the two. In 3, the dash is used in place of a comma, since the change in tone is occuring at the same time as the dialog is being spoken, or near enough that it's the same action. " Until some more people post on this I'd take my post with a grain of salt. To insert an interjection in the middle of a sentence, place one em dash on both sides of the interjected phrase. Use an em dash to mark sharp turns in thought. Use of it is more common in formal academic writing that must cite sources. The dashes are more prominent, and thus suggest a more prominent comment. En dashes are shorter than em dashes, and they indicate a range or connection between numbers or words. These marks are available in most word processors, though many people simply use single and double quotation marks: 5’ 10”. When typing, a hyphen looks like this: (-). em-dash — Long hyphen (—) named em-dash because the dash historically is the length of a lowercase m. ellipses —Ellipses are three periods that indicate an omission within a quoted sentence or fragment of a sentence. Use a question mark after a direct question. Edit: I wrote this sentence just for the question, actually hoping to avoid being bogged down by too much context, but since the first commenter felt it was lacking, I've adjusted the text a little bit. If your keyboard can't produce a dash, you will have to resort to a hyphen as a stand-in. It can be used in the middle of a sentence. -Em dashes mark an interruption or break in thought. Among the 16 most commonly used punctuation marks are the period, question mark, exclamation point, and comma. The web's most comprehensive guide to American punctuation. If that is the case, you will notice a space on either side of. When interrupters fall midsentence, always use a pair of punctuation marks to surround them. An em dash is the width of the letter "m" in the font and type size being used, and should never be used in place of an en dash or hyphen. Yes, the em dash is used in formal writing. INCORRECT: The score right now is 3 – 1. This measurement is. The exclamation point and question mark denote strong emotion or a question, respectively. (An em dash, or long dash, is used: in pairs, to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an. Here are some rules for how to use interrupters. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. Examples. Use an em dash (a symbol that is longer than a hyphen) when the speaker stops speaking on their own or is interrupted. On a PC, the em-dash is made by holding down the ALT key and typing 0151 on the number pad. How to type — Em Dash?. In order to type an en dash on a Mac product, you can hold down the ‘Option’ and ‘-‘ keys simultaneously and an en dash ‘–’ should appear. It is a versatile punctuation mark that can take the place of commas, parentheses, colons, and semicolons in sentences. Enclose the first part of the dialogue in quotation marks but omit the comma. The em dash is a more emphatic substitute for the comma, colon, or parentheses and can be used to indicate omitted words. It doesn't. Em dashes can be used similarly to parentheses and commas, however, they are usually considered. answered Jul 7, 2010 at 7:53. Hyphens are used to create compound words like: Load-bearing; Well-loved; Great-looking; Less-commonly used punctuation marks Interrobang. Feb. Although en dashes look similar to hyphens, they have a specific purpose and meaning – en dashes connect words in place of the word “to” or “through”. This is giving me writer's block and the paper is due tomorrow. Press the spacebar. In sentence case, lowercase most words in a title or heading. , 1 May–13 June) To divide a compound adjective with two equal parts (e. ManhattanMss New Member. There is one piece of good news related to this subject, though. . The August–September issue of a magazine. En dashes can be used to separate a date range or span of time. 2)”Are you OK?” is a direct question. Treat etc. Thus, an em dash in 9-point type is as long as the height of a. In Arabic, which is also written from right. e. The em dash performs a versatile function to help separate certain words from the rest of a sentence. Mistakes with hyphens are very common: leaving them out when they’re needed, adding them when they’re unnecessary, or putting them. An em dash is the width of the letter "m" in the font and type size being used, and should never be used in place of an en dash or hyphen. Don’t be confused: punctuation can change!) Also, em dashes don’t get along with periods at all. The em dashes are used here to indicate that the information within them is rather shocking. To turn smart punctuation off, all you have to do is go to Settings > General > Keyboard, and then turn off the "Smart Punctuation" toggle. S. You would simply end the line of dialogue, have a sentence of narration, and then have a new line of dialogue, even if it's the same speaker continuing. , em dash, en dash, or hyphen), you should put the footnote marker before it. apostrophe. Consider the difference between the sentence above and the one. When it comes to usage, the ellipsis resembles a couple of other punctuation marks: the dash and the colon. ”. Intuition is important to survival: studies show that instinct can beat analytical thinking in a crisis. Note: An en dash is slightly longer than a hyphen. k. For example, to type the em dash ( — ), hold down Alt while typing 0151 on the numeric keypad. The following example from Toni Morrison’s Beloved shows both uses: “Nothing bad can happen to her. Quotation from wiki ( Em dash) When an actual em dash is unavailable—as in the ASCII character set—a double ("--") or triple hyphen-minus ("---") is used. Alternatively, pairs of em dashes are used to mark off additionalAn en-dash is also used in numerical series as in from ten–twenty pieces. If the list follows the independent clause, it is best to use a colon instead. For example: (1) Em dashes can replace colons. The em dash is treated like a question mark or an exclamation mark, which are both followed by the closing. Em-dashes in Place of a Semicolon. In Unicode, the em dash is U+2014 (decimal 8212). NVDA is the least likely. Typesetters will most likely try to track you down and beat you to death if they. These marks are available in most word processors, though many people simply use single and double quotation marks: 5’ 10”. The en-dash is commonly used to show range as in dates (e. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. It is shorter than an em-dash and longer than a hyphen. , “fast-paced,” “shake-up,” “four-year-old,” “post-punk. 1. Anything powerful enough to cross the Wall usually retained enough magic to assume the shape of a soldier, or to become invisible. Question mark. ” En-dashes are mandatory only for public documents. If your teacher says not to use it then do not use it for work that is submitted to your teacher. I am thinking the product_code value may actually contain an -en-dash- or an -em-dash- or something other than 0x2D that is getting displayed correctly (somehow) with the combination of CubeCart, PHP, the web server and the web browser. You’ve probably heard of hyphens and em dashes, but what about en dashes? Learn what they are and how to use them with this helpful article. Em dash. The report covers the period 1998–1999. The correct use of em-dashes and ellipses. Adashisthe punctuation name for a mark that used to separate words into statements. For the the complete list of the first 256 Windows ALT Codes, visit Windows ALT Codes for Special Characters & Symbols. ”. The word “em” is actually a typographical unit of measurement. To type an en dash, press Option + hyphen (-) To type an em dash on keyboard, press Shift + Option + hyphen (-) The only problem is that to use. There are specific rules for punctuating that, too: StutterThe Function of the Em Dash The em dash ( — ) is usually an alternative to another punctuation mark. And be careful to not mix different punctuation marks. Follow. "Three—red, white, yellow—are my favorites. 4. There are three options: Period. The Unicode standard introduced a separate character U+2015 ― HORIZONTAL BAR to be used as a quotation dash. When typing, a hyphen looks like this: (-). It can separate independent clauses. Insert em Dash. After three weeks of deliberation, the jury finally reached a verdict: guilty. (The exclamation point, like the question mark [see 8. En & Em Dashes While sometimes used in other styles to indicate a range of time, AP Style does not use en dashes. To type an em dash in Microsoft Word, press the Option + Shift + hyphen keys (on Mac OS). Question mark! Exclamation point, Comma; Semicolon: Colon-Hyphen – En dash — Em dash. Hold down the Alt key, press 0 1 5 0 on the numeric pad, and then release the Alt key. Example em dashes:Fun fact: The en dash is called the en rule in British English, and the em dash is called the em rule. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. Enclose the first part of the dialogue in quotation marks but omit the comma. That said, let’s look at the two dashes and what makes them different. It thus performs many of the same functions as commas, parentheses, and colons, but with a bit more drama—a “wait for it” tension that tends to lend emphasis to whatever it introduces. Intuition is important to survival: studies show that instinct can beat analytical thinking in a crisis. And be careful to not mix different punctuation marks. For example, don’t use a dash to begin the interrupter and a comma. To help indicate this “cut” between the two parts, many poems use punctuation, typically an em dash (—) or an ellipsis ( . These dashes differ not only in their length but also in the function they perform in a sentence. The hyphen (-) should be used in compound names and words as follows: In phrasal adjectives, which follow “three basic rules: (1) Generally, if it is placed before a noun, you should. A dash can usually be distinguished from a hyphen in print by its greater length. Those textual examples presented by Chicago that use dashes all use em dashes—and there is no space between the dash and the epigraph's source attribution. The employee, hoping to go home early, rushed her tasks. In almost every instance, you should place the footnote marker after the punctuation. I have the same issue in my asp. To format an em dash in Word, type two hyphens, with no spaces, between the words—the dash will automatically form as you continue typing. Character escapes used in markup include numeric character references (NCRs) and named character references. To properly use the em dash, spaces should not be placed around it unless the text is being italicized. As an outcome those characters are generated in the excel as shown below, which contains a kind of question mark. 89: "In modern usage, a question mark or an exclamation point—but never a comma, a colon, or a semicolon—may. In Google docs, use insert special character. SQL Developer is Java based which does not use NLS_LANG settings but SQL*Plus does, so you have to set NLS_LANG properly. Examples. - The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Em Dash: What Is an Em Dash? The em dash in American English is a punctuation mark that helps to convey emphasis,. American usage puts the month first, followed by the day, and then the year. 'Break/Fold Mark'. Example: You’ll see him if you look”—she pointed across the street—“just over there. Mabel tried, despite her dolefulness—for how could she be otherwise?—to bake her own bread but each loaf that emerged from her oven tasted vaguely of tears. If you guessed that it’s as wide as the letter “M,” you get a gold star. c) He thinks that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. These two types of dashes serve different purposes: The EN dash, the shorter of the two dashes, is used to mark ranges. Comments. Two em dashes can be used to indicate missing portions of a word, whether unknown or intentionally omitted. En dash ( –) When connecting two words to signify a range, Chinese generally uses an en dash occupying the space of one character (e. Em-dashes. Two types of dashes are used in punctuation: the em-dash (—) and the en-dash (–). To insert an em dash in MS Word, you must: Type a word (don’t put a space after it) Type two hyphens. How to use en dashes. En dash. A colon is quieter; a dash is more emphatic and dramatic. To Indicate Interruption in Dialogue, Use An Em-Dash. Acting as a comma. An em dash is longer than the en. It could be written with a semicolon, a colon, or a period (or a. By and large, an em dash serves to insert a break in your thought without ending your thought entirely. Comillas españolas (Angle Quotes) and Comillas inglesas (Quotation Marks) Where to Practice Using Spanish Punctuation; Find and Correct the Mistakes in the Following. EM-DASH (–) – with this punctuation mark, you can introduce an explanation or specification, make a break in thought, or separate two parts of the sentence. Dashes create urgency. Some consider its use informal. Use em dashes to do the following: Set off explanatory. However I run into a bump with special characters like curly quotes en and em dashes etc. This is really useful if you're a few words over the 650 word limit and need to trim a bit. It looks like this: — It’s called an em dash because its width is about the same as a lower-case letter em (m). Capitalization rules. To insert an interjection in the middle of a sentence, place one em dash on both sides of the interjected phrase. Type a single dash or hyphen.