How To Use Dashes As Commas

Joe and his trusty mutt was always welcome.

How to use dashes as commas. You use them to surround something that seems a bit out of place in the sentence an aside a clarification or a commentary. When to use dashes parentheses and commas we all insert extra information in sentences at times with dashes parentheses also known as brackets or commas. To create this punctuation mark on a macintosh based system hold down the option key and press the minus key. There are three types of dashes in writing used to convey different ideas in an engaging way. For example i never said he began when typing a completed sentence a comma precedes the closing quotation mark and the attribution.

Sometimes it s just irresistible to include that additional information that we hope will make our meaning clearer or provide context. Consider brushing up on other commonly used punctuation marks in english grammar. Use an en dash when you need to connect terms that are already hyphenated or when you are using a two word phrase as a modifier. Parentheses are the quiet whisper of an aside commas are the conversational voice of a friend walking by your desk and dashes are the yowl of a pirate dashing into a fray. See the following examples.

Using the en dash to denote a connection. First the dash can be used where commas or parentheses might be used as an aside or interruption in the middle of a sentence. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas. They are often used for emphasis to indicate a switch in tone to qualify a subject or as a side note.

Use a dash to cut off dialogue. When the dash is used in this way it creates a compound adjective. Words and phrases between dashes are not generally part of the subject. American psychological association notes that you would use the en dash for. In general you can think of parentheses commas and dashes as a continuum of marks.

The man from ames iowa arrived. Remember that the dash is considered more jarring than using commas or parentheses so consider which punctuation achieves the desired effect. When a thought is left unfinished however a dash should be used instead. You can also explore how to use other misunderstood punctuations such as the colon and semicolon. An em dash is made by typing two hyphens.