The hyphen, en dash, and em dash have become central to all forms of writing. Despite their abundant usage, these horizontal punctuation marks can be confusing as they seem to not obey any particular rule. However, in reality, they do obey specific rules. If a person understands a few basic things about them, the purpose of these punctuation marks, and how to use them, the hyphen, en dash, and em dash are easy to apply to any form of writing.

The purpose of these punctuation marks, as other punctuation marks, is to clarify a sentence. This post will address the question of why we use these three horizonal marks, what they are, and how to use them.

The Hyphen (-)

Anyone who has read any form of article or snippet would have come across sentences where hyphens are used to link two or more adjectives to form a single big adjective.

If the sentence reads “Alice ran the cross country marathon,” then it would have been written as “Alice ran the cross-country marathon”. This is the most common usage of the hyphen.

There is a specific reason why it was hyphenated. If we read the sentence without the hyphen it would come across as cross and country are two different adjectives that modify the noun marathon. Then each of the adjectives, individually, should be able to describe the noun completely without changing the meaning of the sentence. “Alice ran the cross marathon” or “Alice ran the country marathon” should make sense on their own but it doesn’t. Anyone can make out that some word is missing in these sentences. This clearly indicates that “cross and country are both needed to describe the word marathon.”

Exception 1: This rule is applicable only if the adjectives precede the noun. If the sentence was “the marathon that Alice took part in was the cross country one” then it should be written as is, without the hyphenation. We can understand how this rule works using the examples given below.

Example 1: “We ate beef-coated eggs for breakfast” or “the eggs we ate for breakfast were beef coated.”
Example 2: “I bought a heart-shaped gold locket for my wife” or “The gold locket I bought for my wife was heart shaped”.

Exception 2: When a noun has a prefix or a suffix (which is not another adjective like a number, size, shape or any such quality) added to it, the hyphen is not used. This is the rule in American English. However, in British English, the hyphen is used to compound the prefix and the noun or the noun and its suffix.

Example 1:
The antichristian movement has spread to the north of the country
(American English).
The anti-Christian movement has spread to the north of the country (British
English).

Example 2: The prodemocracy group has split into two parts (American English).
The pro-democracy group has split into two parts (British English).

Exception 3: If the adjective ends in “ly,” then one should not use the hyphen.

Example 1: The large richly furnished house was for sale.
Example 2: The cute lively girls left for the excursion with only a bottle of water.

The other use of the hyphen is to distinguish country codes from mobile or landline numbers or to split phone numbers into two or three parts for clarity.

How to use them? On a keyboard: minus sign; MS word: Insert>>Symbol>>Hyphen

The En Dash (–)

The en dash is used to indicate ranges of page numbers, distance or time periods. In short, it replaces the words “from” and “to” when stating ranges.

For page numbers: The article on Frankenstein, pages 170–180, intrigued me more than anything I have ever read.

For distance: The monastery is around 20–25 kilometers from the city center.

For time spans: The plane will take another 45–90 minutes to land.

Or it can be used to link two words of equal weightage

#Example 1: The flute–drum combination is magic to the ears.

#Example 2: The Delhi–Mumbai Highway is being constructed at a rapid pace.

How to use them? Insert>>Symbol>>En Dash; on Apple computers: command + minus.

The Em Dash (—)

The Em dash is the most versatile horizontal mark of the three. It can be used instead of the set of commas, colons, and other punctuation marks. It is mainly used to set apart a set of words or phrases within a sentence. It is also used to separate parts of a sentence that serve as an explanation to the other part of a sentence.

Instead of set of commas:

Clara—Jane’s younger sister—was a track-and-field athlete in college.

Oxford—the world’s oldest University—is going for a complete renovation.

Instead of colons:

The couple were shocked to hear the rental price of their house—50000 dollars for a year.

My chocolate cake recipe requires only four ingredients—milk, sugar, eggs, and chocolate powder.

How to insert an em dash on word? Insert>>symbol>>Em Dash. On Apple computers: command + D.

Hopefully, you’ve been given a clear idea of the various punctuation marks and how to choose them appropriately. Once you understand and practice these punctuation marks for various forms of writing, you will soon find it difficult to read sentences without them. You will intuitively know when to use it in your presentations or writing and will be able to impress your colleagues and bosses.

Do you need help using hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes correctly? Ask me.