English Punctuation, The Hyphen Is Not a Dash - Part 2

by Krystalina Soash -

For some of us the use of a dash versus the use of a hyphen may be confusing, so with that said, I'd like to summarize the definition and the use of the hyphen before we explore the definition and the use of the dash. In this second of two-part series you will find a summary taken from my previous writing on the use of the hyphen. Stay with me, this is really helpful.

The hyphen in summary looks like this (-) and its functions in the English language are to divide, compound, or to show a relationship. Examples of these are:

To divide: As in clarifying the use of numbers. Ask yourself, would you write 23 as twentythree or would you write twenty-three? What about 55, would you write fiftyfive, or fifty-five?

To compound words or names: To bring two or more words or names together to make one word or name as in: power-driven, goal-oriented, self-improvement, Editor-in-Chief, or Fischer-Johnson.

To show a relationship: As in dates between birth and death on a tombstone, an obituary, or historical information as in George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), or keeping game scores, Turtles vs. Rabbits 14-15.

Now on to the dash!

The dash is surprisingly two hyphens put together and looks like this (-), more like an elongated hyphen (-). The purpose of the dash is to show a sudden or unexpected break in the flow of a sentence and its concepts. Notice that the use of the dash is very different than the use of the hyphen as you'll see shortly in the following examples.

There are two types and uses for the dash, and these are:

Afterthought: The use of the dash as an afterthought is used when a thought occurs after the initial sentence has been made; after a point has been expressed. So a sentence with an afterthought might look like this: "The young girl ran as fast as a super hero - or so she thought". Did you notice the afterthought? That is "... - or so she thought."

Parenthetical: The parenthetical use of the dash on the other hand, is an idea or concept placed in the middle of a sentence as if being in parenthesis. So a parenthetical sentence might look like this: "The Grand Canyon - if you've never been there - is a once in a life time sight to see."

So if you've been confused with the use of the hyphen and the dash, you are encouraged to read the previous article on the definition and examples of the hyphen and its uses.

Krystalina Soash is a freelance trilingual interpreter and writer with two published works, "Writing Tips for Student Projects and New Freelance Writers" and "Your Positive Potential: Action Steps for Self-Empowerment". You may visit Krystalina at http://www.yourpositivepotential.com/