| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| DASH |
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| The dash (—) is a mark of punctuation similar to but physically longer than a hyphen and used for other purposes. Typed, a dash is usually rendered with two hyphens; in printed matter, it is usually a mark one em long, whereas a hyphen is only one-quarter em long (an em being a typographical measure, the square space needed to contain the letter M). It signals an interruption in syntax and in the idea of a sentence: When the governor understood how—did you hear the phone? It also can be used as a colon might be used, to introduce a summarizing phrase following a list of details: We had studied math, English, chemistry, philosophy, history—the whole liberal arts curriculum. It can replace commas or parentheses that enclose grammatically parenthetical clauses or phrases: They took every precaution—it seemed to take forever—to ensure our safe arrival. It can also be used to set off an interjected question or exclamation: The need now—urgent, is it not?—is for more funding. The dash also appears in attributions of quotations: Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink. —Coleridge. Finally, the dash is frequently used in Informal writing—especially in personal letters—to suggest the spontaneity, breeziness, and relaxed structure we usually find in conversation. It can be effective when so used, but its overuse to avoid other punctuation and to evade the requirements of more conventional syntax can be trying for the reader, even in a personal letter. In more Formal writing overuse can suggest that the writer is hasty, careless, and imprecise. See also DATES. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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