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Questions tagged [dashes]

The dash is a family of punctuation marks which are not part of a word, but resemble long hyphens in appearance.

The most common kinds of dash are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).

For more information on the kinds of dashes and their usages, see the Wikipedia page Dash.

If your question is about a dash-like punctuation mark that is part of a word (such as in dash-like), it is not a dash. Use instead.

210 questions
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Is it wrong to space en dashes and em dashes?

How I use en dashes and em dashes En dashes: Sybrand Engelbrecht (1814–2177): Unspaced en dash. January–December: Unspaced en dash. Sybrand loved three things – soccer, jazz, and living forever (he unfortunately couldn't.): Spaced en dash instead…
Sid
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Which do you read x' as dash or prime?

In Japan, it is occasionally said that x' should be read as eks-prime in mathematical contexts. However, there are several cases to read eks-dash. In addition, a person says that eks-dash was originally used in the UK and it has been changedas…
Tugaru
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How do I use a dash at the end of speech?

How do I use a dash at the end of speech to signify an abrupt change of subject? I understand that when using an em dash, there is no space before or after the dash: George sighed. “There is nothing to look forward to in life these days.…
ltuba
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Israel-Turkey or Turkey-Israel ties?

I recall back in college the teacher once noting that there is a rule for that. I've checked google and found both are used. Is there a rule for that?
Ohood.94
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Use of a dash at the end of sentence after terminal punctuation

Working on a new edition of work published in the '50s that should now largely conform to the Chicago Manual of Style. To do this, some changes in punctuation are allowed but not to the writing. The following passage contains what is to me a highly…
Typothalamus
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Function of Dashes in a Sentence

Today any accessible, fast-moving story written in unaffected prose is deemed to be "genre fiction"—at best an excellent "read" or a "page turner," but never literature with a capital L. I cant understand the reason for using the dash in —at…
Cloo
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dash to connect two thoughts

How can I use a dash to correctly connect two and thoughts in a sentence? Is the following sentence correct with the dash in from or should I remove it? An S database allows access from – and can be opened by multiple applications at the same…
Daniel
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Student t-distribution: why the dash [sic, EA; hyphen]

In statistics, the t-distribution is important. It is an approximation to the normal distribution. Of course we don't say "normal-distribution" (with the dash). Well then, what exactly is the grammatical justification for calling…
Bjørn Kjos-Hanssen
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How is a dash used in English

Is a dash used between words in word combinations like fill up? Or is it fill-up?
Robert Baker
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Mail-in form....or mail in form?

We use a "Mail-In Registration Form." Or, should we be using a "Mail In Registration Form," without the dash?
Christine C.
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In my example, is there a clever way to remove the dashes?

This raises concerns because people who are 21 years-old and are now legally able to drink — but were born before the 15th of the month of their 21st birthday — will not be accounted for.
user66800
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Can you use a dash to separate two complete sentences?

The term was from her party days - she always looked for a way to incorporate party slang into our lives. Should there be a dash there?
Zulfiyya Alizada
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