Dash Away, Dash Away

Written by Judi Slayden Hayes

When everyone used typewriters to produce documents, the correct use of dashes seemed primarily to be of concern to editors and printers. Now, however, since almost everyone uses a computer, everyone can also use dashes correctly.

Dashes come in three lengths: the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash. All three—hyphen, en dash, and em dash—should be typed with no space before and no space following.

Hyphen (-)
Hyphens, the shortest dash—and some grammar books would say technically not a dash—are used primarily to divide or connect words. The hyphen is most frequently used at the end of a line of type to connect the word at the end of one line to the word at the beginning of the following line. It is also used with prefixes, suffixes, and compound words.

When there is any question about whether a word should be solid—closed, without a hyphen—such as weekend, freelance, or layperson; open—with a space but no hyphen—such as corn bread, rest room, or whole wheat; or hyphenated, such as well-known, mind-set, or step-by-step, always consult a dictionary.

Do not depend on any computer software for hyphenation decisions. Often the computer will indicate a hyphen is needed when, in fact, the word should be closed. Examples include nonessential, extrasensitive, or light bulb. Computer spelling checkers also do not distinguish between open and hyphenated words.

The trend is toward fewer hyphenated words. If you are unsure and the dictionary does not help, clarity is the final guideline.

En Dash (–)
The en dash is longer than a hyphen and half as long as an em dash. On a Macintosh an en dash is made by holding down the option/alt key and typing a hyphen. To make an en dash on a PC, check your software. Microsoft Word for example, has both en and em dashes as inserts, but it also has a shortcut key stroke.

  An en dash is used primarily between numbers. Examples are:

•   The hours for today’s reception are 2–4.
•   The church year 1998–99 recorded the highest Sunday School attendance.

En dashes are similarly used between dates, page numbers, and other numbers.

In biblical references the style varies. Some style manuals, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, use the en dash between verses and between chapters. For example:

• Luke 2:1–7
• Luke 1–3

Em Dash (—)
The em dash is the longest dash, double the length of the en dash. It is made on a Macintosh by holding down both the shift and the option keys and typing a hyphen.

The em dash, much like a comma, is used to enclose and separate; and, like a comma used for this purpose, an em dash generally needs a mate.

Use em dashes instead of a comma to set off a phrase for more emphasis, when the phrase is long, to show a definite interruption, or when using a comma might make the reading confusing.

• The pastor—awakened at midnight by a crisis call—arrived on Sunday morning looking frazzled.
• The tenors—Mark, Allen, and Scott—sang the special music.
• The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—as well as some of Paul’s Letters—1 Timothy, 2 Corinthians, and Romans—were among the congregation’s favorites for study groups.
• Can you—will you—help with Vacation Bible School?

Unfortunately, the em dash is like a new toy for many computer users, and it is much overused. Publishers and seminary professors alike caution writers and students to avoid overuse. Em dashes create a greater pause in reading than commas and, therefore, should be used sparingly to avoid a halting, jarring flow to the text. Too many dashes indicate lack of discipline in correctly using all punctuation and make the writing come across as disorganized or communicating random thoughts.