Hyphens (-) are punctuation marks that are used to join words together, or to separate parts of a word. They play an important role in making writing clear and easy to read. The important thing to remember about hyphens (-) is they are not the same as dashes (– and —)
Hyphens are used to:
join prefixes to the root of words
form compound nouns
form compound adjectives
enhance clarity and readability
Using a prefix can change the meaning of the root word. Some prefixes are joined to a root noun or verb using a hyphen.. Here are a few examples:
re-press
ex-boyfriend
anti-aircraft
self-service
pre-teen
To form a compound noun, we use a hyphen between the nouns. Here are the examples: passer-by
daughter-in-law
comedy-ballet
dinner-dance
soldier-statesman
tractor-trailer
Sometimes we can use hyphens between numbers and nouns to form a single adjective. These are called compound adjectives. For example:
four-bedroom house
absent-minded person
wishy-washy smoothie
new-born baby
six-page book
two-year-old girl
Do not hyphenate the adverbs and the adjectives that come after them.
Highly stressful → Not correct :highly-stressful
Enhancing Clarity and Readability Hyphens are also used to make the meanings clearer and the words easier to read. Sometimes the meaning of the words would change without the hyphen. re-sign
re-design
re-read
re-elect
Dashes are punctuation marks that are used to set off a phrase or clause. They are longer than hyphens and come in two forms: the en dash (–) and the em dash (—)
Em dashes (—) work like parentheses and commas and add non-essential information to the sentence, especially when the information we are adding doesn't fit well with the sentence. The em dashes can be used with space on either side or without spaces, depending on the style of writing
My best friend—who I haven't seen in years—got married yesterday.
Years ago — never mind how long precisely — I thought I could run all around the globe.
En dashes En dashes (–) are used to replace words such as 'and', 'through', and 'to' in numerical ranges, when describing directions, relationships, or scores
Sometimes, especially in British English, the en dash does the same thing as the em dash and adds extra information to the sentence. In these cases, there are spaces on both sides of the en dash. Although commas can be used for this purpose too, dashes are preferable when the information we are adding doesn't fit well with the sentence.
Jeff – who is my best friend – already went back home.
World War I (1914–1918) was a great disaster/a numerical range/Midwest-southwest bridge /describing directions
When we want to add a set of appositives we should put them between dashes
When we want to repeat an emphatic part or phrase in a sentence, we can use a dash at the beginning of the emphatic part. Check out these examples.
The beautiful sky—the clear blue sky—was filled with sea birds.
His eyes—his ocean blue eyes—forced me to think about him all the time.
Do not forget to bring the stuff—flasher, ball, match, etc.
The puppy—a golden retriever—is my newest pet.