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A slash is a punctuation in the English language. In this article you can learn about its functions.
What is a Slash?
A slash (/) is a punctuation that can be used to indicate a choice or alternative between two options or to show a relationship between two things. There are two kinds of slash: forward slash (/) and backslash (\).
How to Use Slash?
In general, you can use the slash without spaces. However, when it is used to separate lines of poetry, it is suggested to use a space either before, after, or both before and after slashes.
Forward Slash
A forward slash is simply called a slash most of the time, it can also be called a "stroke" or "oblique". Using slashes in formal writing is generally not recommended.
Where To Use Slash?
We can use a slash in different contexts, have a look at the following list:
- Instead of 'or'
- Instead of 'per'
- In poetry
- In abbreviations
- In dates and fractions
- To show conflict or connection
- In a two-year range
- In website addresses
Using slash to express dates and fractions
Instead of 'or'
We can use a slash to mean 'or', let's see some examples:
Each person must get
We can get the best prize
You should take a sleeping bag
It is better to avoid using 'and/or' and instead use 'both' at the end, as in 'sleeping bag, an extra blanket, or both'.
Instead of 'per'
We can use a slash to mean per'. Have a look at the following examples:
The salary here is
The car goes
In Poetry
The slash is commonly used in poetry to separate the lines. It is often used when two or three lines of poetry run into a text. When there are more than three lines, it is common to write the text as a block quotation.
Some say the world will end in fire/ Some say in ice/ From what I've tasted of desire/ I hold with those who favour fire.
Robert frost-fire & ice
In Abbreviations
There are some abbreviations that can form with a slash. For example:
with
without
care of
account
In Dates and Fractions
Show Conflict or Connection
The slash can be used to denote a conflict or connection between two things. The en dash can be used for this purpose too.
The
The
In a Two-year Range
The slash can be used to indicate a time span of two years. For example:
We can never forget the tragedy of
In Website Addresses
The slash can be used to separate the website address (URL), and to separate folders on some computer systems.
www.langeek.co/writing/slash
file://Users/photos/image.jpg
Tip!
A backslash is not really considered punctuation in the English language and should not be mistaken for a slash or forward slash. The backslash is usually used in computer coding and programming languages.
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