The Dash (—) is a punctuation mark used especially at the beginning of each line in direct speech.
There are, however, other ways of using it, in which it replaces parentheses, commas or parentheses. You will learn them all here.
in direct speech
1) To input each speaker's speech
Examples:
"How about we go this way?"
"Is that what the map is showing?"
“No, but I don't understand anything about this map.
'Forget it, I'll try to follow the signs.
2) To merge direct speech from indirect speech
Examples:
"How about we go this way?" suggested the woman.
— Just tell me one thing — asks her husband — Is that what the map is showing???
“No, but I don't understand anything about this map. answers the woman, already tired of walking around.
'Forget it, I'll try to follow the signs.
3) In place of the colon
Examples:
- My neighbors will drive me crazy - screaming and fighting until dawn.
- Only she can make me feel better - my mother.
In Bet: Double Indent
To isolate content from the sentence that aims to explain, as well as content that you want to highlight. The affix can, in addition to being separated by a double dash, can be isolated by commas or parentheses.
Examples:
- They—who thought they were very smart—were fooled once again.
- The judge - confident in his decision - found the defendant guilty.
Don't confuse!
The dash and the hyphen are different signs. While the first is a punctuation mark, the hyphen is a graphic sign. learn the Hyphen Use.
