![]() ![]() If there are more than three words modifying a noun.Commonly used terms where the meaning is clear, such as sixth grade teacher, or climate change bill.Here are some instances when you don’t need a hyphen for a compound modifier: ![]() Don’t hyphenate if it comes after.īut not every compound modifier gets a hyphen. It’s important that this only applies when the modifier comes before a noun. Think: “how-to guide” or, small-business guide. Blame the Angles.Ī hyphen is most commonly used for compound modifiers, or when two or more connected words precede a noun. Remove it if it makes it harder.īut English isn’t set up to be simple, is it? Sorry. Simply, use the hyphen if it makes a sentence easier to read. However, the 2020-2022 Edition (note the hyphen in the range of years) notes that its use is not standardized and is often “a matter of taste, judgment and style sense.” AP defines them simply as “joiners,” used to connect compound words together. The littlest of the three is among the most helpful. Finally, they can also be used as attribution for a quote or in datelines. Save it for special occasions.Įm dashes can also be used for a series within a phrase, such as: She went over her grocery list - a block of cheese, shredded cheese, a tub of cheese - as she grabbed her keys. Remember, the dash will lose its punch if you overuse it. In almost every case when an em dash is used for these purposes, it could be replaced by commas. The quick turn of subject, the stark separation of a part of the sentence, they all can quickly become overused. Now, why is this punctuation mark hated by some editors? It’s because it can be a crutch for writers. Shows a quick diversion from the main meat of the sentence and a return to form. She sometimes - but not always - remembers the difference between em and en dashes.Signifies a pause contrasting what Panic! At the Disco does and does not write. It can also be used to set off a clause within a sentence. It’s the most dramatic of all punctuation marks - literally its most common usage is to signify an abrupt change in the sentence or a pregnant pause, according to the AP Stylebook. ![]() This little symbol is beloved by writers everywhere and hated by many editors. In AP style, the dash should be set off with spaces on both sides. If you guessed that it’s as wide as the letter “M,” you get a gold star. Unless you're a professional writer, you probably aren't going to be using them that often.An em dash is longer than the en. Keyboards don't have keys that are dedicated to these punctuation marks. Hyphen created.Įn and em dashes are a little more tricky to find. Depending on the layout of the keyboard, the hyphen key is at the top and beside the zero (0) key. All you have to do is press it, and that's it. Likely, your keyboard already has a key just for this purpose. The first thing you'll need to do is fire up your browser and open a Google Docs file to get started.Ī hyphen is the easiest punctuation mark to create in Google Docs. Essentially, a hyphen is a dash (-), an en dash is the length of two dashes (–), and an em dash is the length of three dashes (-). Instead, you can check out what a hyphen, en dash, and em dash are if you're unsure when to use each punctuation mark. As we are a technology website, we won't go into detail about when and how to use each form of punctuation. ![]()
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