Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes have their places in a sentence. Often times, they are used interchangeably and they are not intended to be used that way. They each have a specific purpose. Most people use hyphens and dashes quite often in writing and they can be somewhat confusing. Most writers are very familiar with using hyphens since they are the most frequently used dash. It’s the smallest of the three with the en dash slightly longer and the em dash slightly longer than the en dash. If you’re using Word, you can find the en dash and the em dash under the “Insert” tab under “Symbols.” From there, you can make a shortcut to those symbols so you can just use your keyboard the next time you need it; this is what I prefer to do. That way when you are typing, you can just use your shortcut on the keyboard instead of going to the symbol menu each time you need it.
Hyphens
Hyphens are used in compound words and for dividing words. They are also used to separate numbers like phone numbers and social security numbers. See the following examples:
1-800-123-4567 (phone number)
123-45-6789 (SSN)
“The way I spell that is F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N.”
He lives in a middle-class neighborhood
She has a three-year-old boy
(Please note that there are several different rules for compound words and whether or not to use the hyphen.)
En Dashes
Typically, en dashes are used to connect numbers. Rarely, are they used to connect words, and that is usually only with connecting two compound words.
1950–1960
Romans 10: 9–10
Refer to pages 12–24
a hospital–nursing home connection
Em Dashes
Em Dashes have several different uses. Most frequently, they are used to amplify or set apart aspects of a sentence.
“She walked away—or rather, ran away—from the laughing crowd.
“Is he—will he—accept the position?” (You could also use ellipses here)
The em dash can also be used to indicate sudden breaks in dialogue.
“I’m sorry; I tried to—”
“Trick me?” she demanded.
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