On Twitter X yesterday, someone mentioned the use of em dash in their writing, I wondered what it was. I had to look it up.
A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The most common types of dashes are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).
A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes.
Clearly, this was something that I should have known, as for years I have occasionally used a dash. It seems I may have been using it wrong, or using the wrong one.
I blame the education system, and the keyboard on my PC! My school because I must have been taught this, but it clearly didn't stay in my mind. I was probably not paying attention. I also blame the keyboard, because there are no dedicated em dash or en dash keys. There is a hyphen key, and that is what I have been using, more or less, regardless of whether it needed the em or en dash, which I had totally forgotten about. Naughty boy, but why had I totally forgotten about it? It may be because it is rarely used—and I rarely use it. Accept, I just did. Was that too dramatic, and did I use it right!?
Rule #1
Use an em dash to highlight dramatic interrupting ideas, summaries, and abrupt changes of thought.
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