The en dash is approximately the length of the letter n, and the em dash the length of the letter m.
- The shorter en dash (–) is used to mark ranges and with the meaning “to” in phrases like “Dover–Calais crossing.”
- The longer em dash (—) is used to separate extra information or mark a break in a sentence.
When should an en dash be used?
An en dash should be used for clarity when one of the elements in a compound adjective is an open compound (made up of two words with a space between them) or when both elements contain hyphenated terms. In terms of clarity, this is especially helpful when one of the terms is a capitalized proper noun.
What are dashes example?
Dashes replace otherwise mandatory punctuation, such as the commas after Iowa and 2020 in the following examples: Without dash: The man from Ames, Iowa, arrived. With dash: The man—he was from Ames, Iowa—arrived. Without dash: The May 1, 2020, edition of the Ames Sentinel arrived in June.
