Having covered commas, semicolons, and colons, we’ll next examine dashes. Dashes have the following uses:
– To emphasize certain material.
– To replace a colon that introduces a series.
– To set apart parenthetical expressions, with or without internal commas.
To complete this section, review each of the tabbed areas below and complete the Dashes Self Check at the end.
Since the stylistic effect of dashes is abruptness, they are effective in emphasizing content. Here is an example:
“Especially in India and Pakistan, the [wild] hoofed animals are rapidly disappearing, due to destruction of habitat by subsistence agriculture, overcutting of the forest, overgrazing by the scraggy hordes of domestic animals, erosion, flood—the whole dismal cycle of events that accompanies overcrowding by human beings.”
– Peter Mathiessen
In the following presentation, we will review further examples of dashes used for emphasis.
Carefully review the presentation below. Core details on the above content are explained in further detail, along with relevant examples.
In the following sentences, determine whether to add a dash for emphasis and if so where the dash would go.
“Their quarrel was no more surprising than are most quarrels inevitable at the time, incredible afterwards.” (E. M. Forster)
At its present pace of about 70,000 examinations completed annually, the IRS will take more than 4 years to process the current backlog of 314,516 tax shelter returns even if no new cases are added to the inventory.
If you said a dash should be placed in the first sentence after “quarrels” and in the second sentence after “returns,” you are correct. The dash in the second sentence is optional, though if it is inserted it adds emphasis to the final clause. See corrected below.
“Their quarrel was no more surprising than are most quarrels inevitable at the time— incredible afterwards.”
At its present pace of about 70,000 examinations completed annually, the IRS will take more than 4 years to process the current backlog of 314,516 tax shelter returns—even if no new cases are added to the inventory.
As you can see, dashes interrupt a sentence and break its flow more so than commas and parentheses do; therefore, they call more attention to the material they mark off.
Dashes can also replace a colon that introduces a series. Here is a previous example in which we used a colon, shown here now with a dash:
Certain qualities are needed to be a good examiner—knowledge of financial accounting, expertise in using spreadsheets, attention to detail, discretion, and good communication skills.
Grammatically, either a colon or a dash may be used to introduce a series, though a dash is slightly more emphatic. As covered in the colon section, series can begin with nouns, verbs, or prepositions; the important thing is that they all begin with the same grammatical form.
In the next section (tab) we will review dashes used for parenthetical expressions.
Aside from replacing colons, dashes can also replace commas used for parenthetical expressions. The following sentence, which you saw earlier with commas around the parenthetical material, is shown here with dashes. Either way is correct, though dashes tend to be more emphatic.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—painted from 1508 to 1512—was one of Michelangelo’s greatest achievements.
In the presentation that follows, we will review further details of dashes used with parenthetical expressions.
Carefully review the presentation below. Core details on the above content are explained in further detail, along with relevant examples.
Dashes are also effective for offsetting parenthetical expressions that have internal commas, as in this example:
The island states of the Eastern Caribbean—Barbados, Antigua/Barbuda, St. Kitts/Nevis, Montserrat, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Grenada—received $52 million in U.S. economic assistance last year.
Because the parenthetical list of island states has internal commas, using dashes to set it off works better than commas would. Notice how using commas below fails to properly distinguish the list:
The island states of the Eastern Caribbean, Barbados, Antigua/Barbuda, St. Kitts/Nevis, Montserrat, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Grenada, received $52 million in U.S. economic assistance last year.
In the following sentences to determine if a dash (or dashes) could be used, and if so, where a dash should be placed.
The dog went for the steak, a one-inch thick ribeye, and ate it in one gulp.
From 1914 to 1918, the First World War raged in Europe.
The people, Tom, Nick, and Sandra, rushed over to help, but it was too late.
If you said the first and third sentences could use a dash, you are correct. The second sentence does not need a dash at all. Here are the first and third sentences, revised to include dashes:
The dog went for the steak—a one-inch thick ribeye—and ate it in one gulp.
The people—Tom, Nick, and Sandra—rushed over to help, but it was too late.
To review, dashes are used for the following purposes:
– To emphasize certain material
– To replace a colon that introduces a series
– To set apart parenthetical expressions, with or without internal commas.
Check your knowledge of these usages with the following self-check.
