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A versatile and emphatic tool, the em dash must also be used correctly.
A versatile and emphatic tool, the em dash must also be used correctly.
Em dash - a punctuation mark that can be used in place of commas, a colon, or brackets to draw the reader's attention to something in an informal and striking way.
Introduction
Introduction
As defined by the indomitable Strunk and White, "A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses [brackets]."
The large size of an em dash (named because it is commensurate in length to the letter m) means it can be used to catch the reader's eye in a striking way. That said, it is best to use no more than two per sentence to avoid readability issues.
Hyphens and Dashes
Hyphens and Dashes
The em dash is one of three horizontal bars used as punctuation marks. A fourth bar, the underscore (_) is not used in written English.
The relative size of each of the three horizontal bars is shown below.
Hyphen -
En dash –
Em dash —
Inserting an Em Dash
Inserting an Em Dash
Most keyboards do not include an em dash.
On Windows we can type Ctrl+Alt+Hyphen (-) to insert one. On Mac we can use Shift+Option+Minus (-).
In addition, some word processors will automatically convert two (or three) hyphens to an em dash, or allow one to be added as a special character through the Insert menu.
If necessary, we can type '"em dash"' into a search engine, and then copy and paste one into our current document (remembering to paste without formatting to match our current font and size).
Grammatical Uses
Grammatical Uses
To replace a pair of commas
To replace a pair of commas
A pair of commas can be used to set off nonessential information in a sentence:
Example
My new car, which I love, is red.
If we would like to add more emphasis to such information, we can replace the commas with em dashes.
Example
My new car—which I cannot live without—is red.
To replace a colon
To replace a colon
A colon can be used after an independent clause to expand upon this information.
Example
The phone's screen began to flicker: it must have been damaged when he dropped it.
In less formal writing we can use an em dash in such sentences.
Example
The phone was playing up again—the fall must have borked it.
To replace brackets
To replace brackets
Brackets can be used to provide additional information to the reader.
Example
The influencer (and their camera operator) flew in a private jet.
In less formal writing we can replace these brackets with em dashes.
Example
The influencer—and their long-suffering camera operator—took a private jet.
To indicate missing information
To indicate missing information
If part of a word is unknown, or we would prefer to leave it out, we can use two em dashes in succession to indicate this omission.
If an entire word is missing, we can use two or three em dashes.
Examples
The garbled transmission reads as follows: "We expect them to a—— sometime before ——n."
According to Mrs. ———, the accused robbed the store in broad daylight.
Formatting
Formatting
Most style guides recommend that no space be left before and after an em dash. Most newspapers, however, prefer to leave spaces.
As writers we can choose either style; however, we must be consistent in our usage.
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