Dashes

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Don’t confuse a dash with a hyphen (see Hyphens). Dashes are longer than hyphens.

There are two types of dashes: the en dash and the em dash. The en dash is based on the size of an uppercase N, and the em dash is based on the size of an uppercase M. So the em dash is longer than the en dash.

- hyphen

– en dash

— em dash

The en dash is a linking device that implies to or and.

The em dash is a separating device. It signals a pause slightly longer than a comma, or it interrupts the sentence for a purposeful digression.

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When to use an en dash

Use an en dash to indicate continuing or inclusive numbers, such as dates, times, or reference numbers.

Also use an en dash as a minus sign.

Yes:

August–September

Yes:

pages 10–20

Yes:

–4 °C

When to use an em dash

Use an em dash to enclose or set off a parenthetic expression when commas and parentheses aren’t emphatic enough.

Tip:
Sometimes it’s better to split a sentence instead of using em dashes. Two short sentences are easier to read than one long sentence. See also Avoid parentheses and nested sentences.

Yes:

Use an em dash—if you can’t avoid it—when commas aren’t emphatic enough.

Top:

When commas aren’t emphatic enough, you can use an em dash. However, try to avoid it. Instead, split the sentence into two sentences.

How to enter dashes

On standard computer keyboards, there are no keys for dashes.

Some authoring tools automatically insert dashes when you type particular strings, such as two or three consecutive hyphens.

Tip:
If your authoring tool doesn’t support dashes, you can also use the Special Characters Script included in the indoition Hotkey Script Collection for Writers and Translators to enter en dashes and em dashes (for more information, visit http://www.indoition.com).

To enter en dashes manually:

On a computer that runs Windows: Hold down Alt and type 0150 on the numeric keypad.

On a computer that runs Mac OS: Press Alt+Hyphen.

On a computer that runs Linux: Press Ctrl+Shift+U, then type 2013, then press Enter.

To enter em dashes manually:

On a computer that runs Windows: Hold down Alt and type 0151 on the numeric keypad.

On a computer that runs Mac OS: Press Alt+Shift+Hyphen.

On a computer that runs Linux: Press Ctrl+Shift+U, then type 2014, then press Enter.

The HTML code for an en dash is –.

The HTML code for an em dash is —.

The Unicode code point for the en dash is U+2013.

The Unicode code point for the em dash is U+2014.

When to add space characters before and after dashes

Most style guides recommend that you don’t leave spaces on either side of en dashes and em dashes.

Yes:

Use an em dash—if you can’t avoid it—when commas aren’t emphatic enough.

Some writers use an open-set en dash (space character + en dash + space character) or an open-set em dash (space  character+ em dash + space character) instead of a closed-set em dash. Although this is rather uncommon, particularly in American English, it isn’t strictly wrong. Open-set en dashes instead of closed-set em dashes are also the predominant style in German and French typography, for example.

No matter which style you choose, use it consistently.

Yes:

Open-set em dashes — like in this sentence — aren’t wrong, but they are less common than closed-set em dashes.

Yes:

Alternatively, you can use an open-set en dash – as in German or French – instead of a closed-set em dash.