How the Dash and the Hyphen are UsedUse a dash... Need a Dictionary? [Open][Close]
| 1. to give an explanation. Make the dash by typing two hyphens without extra space around them. You will, however, often see the dash as a single hyphen. The inactivity of captives--locked up for weeks on end without knowing what whim their captors may have the next day--is a form of physical and mental torture. |
| 2. to emphasize a point. To avoid suspicion and interrogation at checkpoints, insurgents would pack their cars with women and children--a gamble with human shields. |
| 3. to set off an appositive phrase that has internal commas. Insurgents from several Arab countries--Syria, Iran, Jordan, and Egypt--have gone to Iraq to destabilize the American-backed government. The examples above all give additional, nonessential information. |
Use a hyphen...
| 1. to join two or more words to form a single adjective. Her grandmother is ninety-eight. Her sister has a four-year-old boy. Her husband ordered a twelve-ounce steak and twice-baked potatoes. Jill's ordeal was a nerve-wracking experience. Jody's internship gave her hands-on experience. CalWORKS is a welfare-to-work program. However, if the adjective is a complement after a linking verb, do not hyphenate it. The author, John Steinbeck, is well known in the Monterey area. The copper pipes they installed are rust proof. |
| 2. to form words with certain prefixes or suffixes. ex-wife great-grandmother all-consuming anti-semitic mid-semester pre-conditions self-replicating in-laws daughter-in-law president-elect |
| 3. to divide words between syllables [run-ning] and to make line breaks. Never begin a line with a hyphen or with a one- or two-letter syllable. Walter Quintero is the supervisor of the San Jose welfare office, where he provides orien- tations for parents who are entering the welfare-to-work program for the first time. For more guidelines on hypenation, click here. |