How To Use Dashes And Colons
However em dashes are more emphatic than colons.
How to use dashes and colons. After all the dash adds the same length of pause as a semicolon but without the risk it s almost impossible to screw up. There are three kinds of dash type punctuation. The medium length dash used to show a range as in dates or times. The meeting is scheduled to run from 4 30 5 45. When you want to generate strong emotion in your writing or create a more casual tone use em dashes.
At the end of an independent clause a group of words that could feasibly stand alone as a complete sentence that is followed by a list. Explain colons and when they are commonly used. These three punctuation marks semicolons colons and dashes are most effective when they re used sparingly. A colon informs readers that something more is coming along. Colons dashes hyphens and parentheses 1.
And dashes are particularly useful for setting off items in a series that are already separated by commas. Colons enable a writer to introduce a clause that amplifies whatever came before the colon. The short dash used to show a syllable break or to form a compound term such as in class assignment. What this handout is about. They are more formal than dashes.
Explain dashes and when they are commonly used. Do not use a colon if the list or explanation is connected to the sentence without a complete stop. This handout explains the most common uses of three kinds of punctuation. 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. A dash also introduces extra material but well a dash is quite a dramatic punctuation mark.
After reading the handout you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing. The words after a colon define or clarify what came before the colon. Hyphens en dashes and em dashes. Some authors such as novelist kurt vonnegut jr would prefer to do away with the semicolon altogether. We use colons for five things would make a perfectly good sentence.