“Skydivers typically fall at speeds around 120–130 mph, but some can reach speeds near 200 mph or even higher depending on body position and intent.” “When shipping presents during the holidays, it’s usually a good idea to ship them at least 3–5 days in advance of when you normally would to ensure that they will arrive on time.” Let’s look at a few examples to drive the point home: Most people simply substitute the word “to” or “through” when reading a text with the en-dash in place. It could be weight, speed, time, age, quantity, etc. These numbers can be for anything that’s being measured. When the en-dash is used, it’s often done to demonstrate or show a range of numbers. That said, let’s get into the specifics on what this little guy does. It is also important to realize that the en-dash and the em-dash play completely different roles when it comes to writing. The truth of the matter is that the En-Dash is the easiest to understand and use, and as such, it is the least likely to cause errors and/or confusion. You should be able to pull down the correct punctuation mark by using those. Keep typing (with NO space between the two hyphens and the next word)Īlso, many word processors, including Word, will have a “symbols” tab, button, ribbon, or dropdown. Type your sentence up to the point where you want the em-dash, but do NOT add a space Type your sentence up to the en-dash and add a space We can’t go over all of the software, obviously, but we can show an easy shortcut for one of the most popular, Microsoft Word (and this feature is replicated in other suites, too). Many word processors will automatically format for each type of dash, depending on how you type. Also, if it’s still not showing up, toggle your Num Lock key. Not the numbers running across the top of your keyboard. The alt code for the em-dash is: alt+0151 Hold down your alt key press 0,1,5,0 then, let go of the alt key. The alt code for the en-dash is alt+0150. Depending on the numbers pressed, you get a different character. What is an alt code? Well, the short history lesson is that IBM developed a way to type characters on screen that aren’t on your keyboard by holding down the Alt key (either one is fine), and then entering in a numeric code on the keypad (outlined in red below). What we can do is use something called alt-codes. Sure, they will have a hyphen or minus-sign (-), as well as an underscore (_), but neither of those is what we want. This is a good question as most keyboards will not have the actual en- or em-dash as part of their keyboard layout. Here’s what the two look like right next to each other: “Once the mayor collected all of the votes on the matter-a total of 385-he was then able to get a feel for what everyone wanted.” This dash is longer than the en-dash and is about the size of the letter M in width. “From 1901–1981, there are exactly 80 years.”ĭon’t worry if you’re not quite sure why we used it there as opposed to a hyphen or the other dash. You can see what it looks like in the example below: It is slightly longer than the hyphen and can is about the size of the letter N in width. The first and most common dash that is used is the en-dash. There are actually two types of dashes, and both are very different in usage as well as appearance. On the other hand, a dash is used in several other settings, and it also looks different. Hyphens are used to create compound words and adjectives, as well as when a word runs from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. First and foremost, it is not a hyphen (“-“). Whether you’re looking for tips on how to be a great writer or simply are going through all of the other punctuation marks out of curiosity, we’ve got you covered when it comes to the dash.īefore we go any farther, we should probably take a look at exactly what this little guy is. In fact, if you are reading this article right now, you probably have some questions about when and where to use the dash properly. The dash is one of those punctuation marks that many people have seen throughout their lives but have probably given little thought about how it’s really supposed to be used.
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