Hyphens and Dashes
Hyphens and dashes have to be used properly as punctuation marks to avoid confusion. In this lesson, we will learn all about them.
What Are Hyphens?
Hyphens are punctuation marks (-) that are used to make compound combinations.
Why Do We Use Hyphens?
They are used to form:
- join prefixes to main parts
- compound nouns
- compound adjectives
Join Prefixes to Main Parts
Forming Compound Nouns
To form a compound noun, we use a hyphen between the nouns. Here are the examples:
- passer-by
- daughter-in-law
- comedy-ballet
- dinner-dance
- soldier-statesman
- tractor-trailer
Forming Compound Adjectives
Warning
Do not hyphenate the adverbs and the adjectives that come after them. Here are the examples:
Highly stressed → ✗
What Are Dashes?
Dashes (also called em dashes) are actually formed by putting two hyphens beside each other without any space (—). Dashes are slightly longer than hyphens.
Why Do We Use Dashes?
When we want to name a set of appositives we should put them between dashes. For example:
Do not forget to bring the stuff—flasher, ball, match, etc.
The puppy—a golden retriever—is my newest pet.
When we want to repeat an emphatic part or phrase of a sentence, we can use a dash at the beginning of the emphatic part. Check out these examples.
The beautiful sky—the clear blue sky—was full of the sea birds.
His eyes—his ocean blue eyes—forced me think about him all the time.
Review
Hyphens and dashes are used to make special combinations.
Hyphens are widely used to make:
- compound nouns
- compound adjectives
Dashes are usually used to express:
Comments
