So, you can insert an en dash by typing the required words or numbers with a spaced hyphen in between. First, Microsoft Word automatically corrects a hyphen to an en dash if it has spaces on either side. In Windows, there are three ways to produce an en dash. You simply hold down the option key while pressing hyphen (-). If you’re working on a Mac, it’s very straightforward to insert an en dash. I have to make a choice – hybrid or electric. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! I visited Niagara Falls – in Ontario – last summer. In addition, in British and Australian dialects, you can use en dashes with spaces on either side instead of parentheses or a colon: Niagara Falls is on the Canada–America border. Will the hybrid–electric argument ever be settled? The Rams won 34–11 against the Cardinals. Zhu Zhanji, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, 1425–1435 En dashes are mainly used in four situations: ranges of numbers or dates, scores, conflicts, and connections. Watch the video below or read on to find out more.Īn en dash (–) looks similar to a hyphen (-), but it’s slightly longer-the same length as the letter n. In this post, we’ll show you how to produce these dashes on Windows and Apple devices so that you can easily use them in your writing. The en dash (–) and em dash (-) are useful punctuation marks, but unfortunately, you won’t find either of them on your keyboard. This explanation is not intended to be exhaustive (for much more, see chapter 6 in CMOS), but I do hope that it helps to frame the different potential of each length of dash.How to Type an En Dash and Em Dash on Windows and Mac Devices In interrupted speech, one or two em dashes may be used: “I wasn’t trying to imply-” “Then just what were you trying to do?” Also, the em dash may serve as a sort of bullet point, as in this to-do list: For example, in a bibliographic list, rather than repeating the same author over and over again, three consecutive em dashes (also known as a 3-em dash) stand in for the author’s name. Its use or misuse for this purpose is a matter of taste, and subject to the effect on the writer’s or reader’s “ear.” Em dashes also substitute for something missing. It allows, in a manner similar to parentheses, an additional thought to be added within a sentence by sort of breaking away from that sentence-as I’ve done here. Now, that is a rather fussy use of the en dash that many people ignore, preferring the hyphen. In that example, “pre” is connected to the open compound “World War II” and therefore has to do a little extra work (to bridge the space between the two words it modifies-space that cannot be besmirched by hyphens because “World War II” is a proper noun). En dashes are also used to connect a prefix to a proper open compound: for example, pre–World War II. And in fact en dashes specify any kind of range, which is why they properly appear in indexes when a range of pages is cited (e.g., 147–48). The en dash connects things that are related to each other by distance, as in the May–September issue of a magazine it’s not a May-September issue, because June, July, and August are also ostensibly included in this range. The hyphen connects two things that are intimately related, usually words that function together as a single concept or work together as a joint modifier (e.g., tie-in, toll-free call, two-thirds). I frame it this way because the work they do is roughly related to their length (though I don’t think CMOS puts it this way outright). First of all, there are three lengths of what are all more or less dashes: hyphen (-), en dash (–), and em dash (-). I will try to condense the various bits of information scattered throughout CMOS. What is the difference in usage between an em dash and an en dash?Ī.
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