Dash (—)

Dash (—), not hyphen (‐) is another pronunciation used for various purposes. Note that when using dash, there should not have space before and after the dash since dash itself is a clear separation.

Dash Usages

Mark Interrupt Structure

You can use dash to mark interruption. 

I ran to the bus stop—but the bus had driven away.


Act as Parentheses

You can also use dash as an alternative to Parentheses.

The bug—which landed on my nose—had to be the size of a softball.


Act as Colon

You can also use dash as an alternative to colon to introduce things.

I have only ever wanted one thing—snacks.


Indicate Interruption in Dialog

You use dash to indicate an interruption during speech.

"Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. We could—" James said before the explosive blasted.

Checklist for Grammar Review

  1. When using dashes, are the contexts a form of clauses?
    1. NO - If they are words, use hyphen.
  2. Is the dash used for marking interruption, introduce things like colon or indicate interruption in dialog?
    1. NO - Stop using dash. wrong use of it.
  3. Are there any spaces before and after the dash?
    1. YES - remove the spaces