Dash Enrule Examples

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Dash Enrule - Glossary of Terms

Dash

A dash is a punctuation mark (-) that has several uses. It should not be confused with a hyphen (-) which is used in compound adjectives (like "first-class restaurant"). Dashes are slightly longer than hyphens when handwritten. As many keyboards do not differentiate between hyphens and a dashes, many writers use two hyphens (--) to represent a dash. Dashes do not have a unique use (i.e., they are used in places where other punctuation marks could be used). For example:

In Place of Parentheses:

Example:

On Saturday, I took the club secretary (Pat Derbyshire) to Skegness.

On Saturday, I took the club secretary - Pat Derbyshire - to Skegness. (commas could also be used)

In Place of Three Dots: (when used as a pause for effect)

Example:

I eventually found it...in my shoe.
I eventually found it - in my shoe.

In Place of a Semicolon: (when used to merge two simple sentences)

Example:

He cannot afford it; the flight alone is too much.
He cannot afford it - the flight alone is too much.

In Place of a Colon: (when used to extend a sentence in the manner below)

Example:

She is only interested in one thing: money.
She is only interested in one thing - money.

Associated pages:

Extend a sentence
Choice of parentheses
Glossary of grammatical terms