en or em dash
Out of context: Reply #17
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- whatsup0
Hyphen (-)
The hyphen is the minus key in Windows-based keyboards. This is a widely used punctuation mark. Hyphen should not be mistaken for a dash. Dash is different and has different function than a hyphen.
A hyphen is used to separate the words in a compound adjective, verb, or adverb. For instance:
The T-rex has a movement-based vision.
My blog is blogger-powered.
John’s idea was pooh-poohed.En Dash (–)
En Dash gets its name from its length. It is one ‘N’ long (En is a typographical unit that is almost as wide as 'N'). En Dash is used to express a range of values or a distance:
People of age 55–80 are more prone to hypertension.
Delhi–Sidney flight was late by three hours.Em Dash (—)
Em Dash gets its name from the width of it, which is roughly one ‘M’ long or two ‘N’ long (Em is a typographical unit twice the length of en—and almost the length of capital 'M'). The Em Dash can be typed as two En Dashes. Alternatively, in MS Word, you can type two hyphens together to get an Em Dash. The ASCII code for this is "—".
Em Dash is used to set off parenthetical elements, which are abrupt. This is different from commas separating parenthetical elements. For instance:
The tea—with cardamom and other spices—was delicious and fragrant.
Make sure you don’t use spaces around the Em Dash.
Em Dash also separates the final part of a sentence that is logically not part of the sentence (similar to the colon use in this context).
Several friends were present—Saurabh, Arun, and Smija, among them.
Though most people prefer to follow the Em Dash without spaces, some people recommend using Em dash or En Dash with spaces around.
- <that's how I use 'emWrappedInBooks
- dont forget me.. i use hyphene-pill