In the last lesson, we took a deeper look at commas. In this lesson, we will explore the difference between hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes.
Hyphens
A hyphen connects two words that are closely related and are acting as a single word. For example:- Two-thirds of survey respondents said they needed additional training.
- This number is toll-free.
However, in some cases, you only connect the words with a hyphen when they are acting as an adjective modifying the word that follows them:
- This architecture supports high availability when traffic increases. (“availability” is a noun, and “high” is an adjective modifying it)
- To handle traffic spikes, design a high-availability architecture. (“high-availability” is a compound adjective modifying “architecture”)
- Next, you check in your files. (“check” is a verb, “in” is an adverb modifying “check”)
- The server sends a check-in notification. (“check-in” is a compound adjective modifying “notification”)
- This software is open source.
- This open source software is free to use. (No hyphen between "open" and "source")
Electronic mail -> e-mail -> email
“Log in” is still two words when it’s a verb:
- You can now log in to the application.
- Your login information was sent to your email address.
The Microsoft Manual of Style (and some other style guides) instructs us NOT to use hyphens after “-ly” adverbs:
- These are often-asked questions.
- These are frequently asked questions. (No hyphen after an "-ly" adverb)
Dashes
There are two types of dashes: en dashes and em dashes. En dashes are longer than hyphens but shorter than em dashes.– en dash
— em dash
En dash
En dashes are uncommon. They connect two things that are related to each other by distance, essentially replacing the word “to”. For example:
- Take the San Francisco–New York flight.
- I read this in the May–September issue of the magazine.
- This certificate is valid 2017–2018.
- This certificate is valid from 2017 to 2018.
- This certificate is valid 2017–2018.
- This certificate is valid from 2017–2018.
To type an en dash, see: https://www.howtotype.net/symbol/en-dash/
Em dash
The em dash is longer and is more common than the en dash. It sets off and emphasizes additional information in the sentence and can be used in place of commas, a colon, or parentheses—as I just did in this sentence. For example:
- When the car was finally delivered three months after it was ordered, she no longer wanted it.
- When the car was finally delivered, three months after it was ordered, she no longer wanted it.
- When the car was finally delivered—three months after it was ordered—she no longer wanted it.
Here's an example of an em dash replacing a colon:
- The white sand, the warm water, the sparkling sun—this is what brought them to Hawaii.
Summary
Hyphens connect two words that are closely related. En dashes connect two things that are related by time and replace the word "to". Em dashes set off a part of the sentence to give it extra emphasis.
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