What does two dash mean in a sentence?

Two dashes can emphasize a modifier. Words or phrases that describe a noun can be set off with dashes if you wish to emphasize them. Example: The fairgrounds—cold and wet in the October rain—were deserted. Example: Nettie—her chin held high—walked out into the storm.

What is a double dash called in grammar?

We can use an em dash, or multiple em dashes, in place of commas that set off additional information or asides. Em dashes are typically seen as more attention-grabbing than commas, so they are especially useful to focus a reader’s attention on surprising or unexpected information.

What do two dashes in a row mean?

The em dash is highly versatile. It can take the place of commas, colons, or parentheses in your sentences. Most word processing programs will autocorrect two hyphens typed in a row into an em dash. Use em dashes to enhance readability as they can be more emphatic than the mere comma.

Can you use an em dash twice in a sentence?

It’s also important that when you set off a phrase using em-dashes that you used one em-dash immediately after the noun the phrase is describing and one immediately after the phrase. Don’t replace the second em-dash (as some tend to) with a comma or semicolon.

How do you use dashes in a sentence?

Use dashes to set off an idea or an appositive within a sentence. A dash (—) is a punctuation mark used to set off an idea within a sentence and may be used alone or in pairs. Dashes interrupt a thought in a more dramatic way than a phrase enclosed in commas, but less theatrically than parentheses.

What does a double hyphen look like?

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. In Latin script, the double hyphen ⹀ is a punctuation mark that consists of two parallel hyphens. It was a development of the earlier double oblique hyphen ⸗ which developed from a Central European variant of the virgule slash, originally a form of scratch comma.

How do you use em dash in a sentence?

An em dash can also be used to mark a break in a sentence in place of a semicolon or colon. In this context, dashes are often used for emphasis or to signal a change in tone: There was no arguing with her—she was set in her opinion.

How do you make an extended hyphen?

Make an em dash or en dash with a keyboard shortcut On Windows it’s… less simple: you need to use an alt code to get an em dash. If you have a numeric keyboard, hold down the Alt key and type 0151 for an em dash or 0150 for an en dash.

How do you use dashes and hyphens?

A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side.

What is a hyphen vs dash?