How To Use Dashes Act
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How to use dashes act. Finally dashes can be used to create a break in a thought they force the reader to stop for a fraction of a second before continuing on to whatever idea comes next. Use an em dash to join independent clauses. The dash works somewhat like parentheses or commas but it is used where a stronger punctuation is needed. Dashes are used to mark off non essential information or to loosely connect two thoughts. There are two ways to use dashes in a sentence each one with a distinct purpose.
Single dashes function in the same way as colons. Use an en dash when you need to connect terms that are already hyphenated or when you are using a two word phrase as a modifier. When setting off a nonessential phrase in the middle of a sentence we must use a pair of commas or a pair of dashes. Let s look at some examples. The teacher took three students jeff dennis and sue to see the.
3 dashes can create a pause. Semicolons colons and dashes. When the dash is used in this way it creates a compound adjective. Colons semicolons and dashes. The first is the single dash.
After reading the handout you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing. Here s an overview of how they re used with examples. The en dash may also be used to indicate a connection between two words. They are used to create a slight sense of drama or suspense. The following sentence is wrong.
This handout explains the most common uses of three kinds of punctuation. What this handout is about. Free act english practice problem how to use dashes. Dashes can do a good many things. Because we have already discussed colons our work with the single dash is going to be simple.