Is there really
a difference between dashes and hyphens? Yes, there is. A dash (–) is a longer
version of a hyphen (-), and it has different usage in sentences and grammar
construction.
Hyphens are
often used to link two or more words or sentences together. A hyphen is used in
compound adjectives, which are two or more words that together form an
adjective.
Take for instance,
Life-long vs. Lifelong as an adjective.
Many times,
one can spell certain words such as lifelong without a hyphen, and if an adjective
comes after a noun, then no need to use a hyphen.
Example: Education is a lifelong learning
process. Vs.
A life-long learning process is the
foundation of continual education.
Dashes are
less formal. Dashes can be used in same fashion as parenthesis, such as in
outlining emphasis or comments in sentences. There are two types of dashes: En-dash
and Em-dash. En- dash is shorter but slightly wider than a hyphen and has spacing
before and after it. It is used for a span of numbers (1999 – 2000) or to represent
connections (North – South). Em-dash is longer with no spacing and can be used
liberally in place of commas, parenthesis and colons—just not in professional
writing. Can you identify the type of dash in the next example?
Example: Education
is a lifelong learning process––the key to successful personal, professional
growth and development.
“Once you
stop learning, you start dying”. -Albert
Einstein.
Happy
Communication and to learn more, check us out at the communication centre @ 3445 Schneider Hall.
