How To Use Dashes And Colons

The medium length dash used to show a range as in dates or times.

How to use dashes and colons. There are three kinds of dash type punctuation. We use colons for five things would make a perfectly good sentence. What this handout is about. The words after a colon define or clarify what came before the colon. Yet after witnessing the semicolon being used incorrectly more often than not i prefer to simply recommend the dash instead especially as i have a fondness for it as my overuse of it in this article alone indicates.

Colons dashes hyphens and parentheses 1. These three punctuation marks semicolons colons and dashes are most effective when they re used sparingly. When you want to generate strong emotion in your writing or create a more casual tone use em dashes. A colon is used at the end of a complete thought to introduce a list an explanation or a formal quotation. Do not use a colon if the list or explanation is connected to the sentence without a complete stop.

Some authors such as novelist kurt vonnegut jr would prefer to do away with the semicolon altogether. It will explain instances when it is appropriate to use colons and dashes according to style and audience. A colon informs readers that something more is coming along. A dashing young man is certainly not an ordinary young man and if you re dashing off to the store you re not just going to the store you re going in a flurry. Hyphens en dashes and em dashes.

The two hobbies before the colon are defined after the colon as cooking and bothering aardvark. The meeting is scheduled to run from 4 30 5 45. After all the dash adds the same length of pause as a semicolon but without the risk it s almost impossible to screw up. This packet should help a learner seeking to understand how to use correct punctuation and who is confused about how to use colons and dashes. 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.

However em dashes are more emphatic than colons. 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. The short dash used to show a syllable break or to form a compound term such as in class assignment. A dash can add extra information and is more flexible in this way. After reading the handout you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing.