­­­Introduction^[1]

Punctuation plays a crucial role in clarity and readability. While hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes look similar, they have distinct uses in British English. This guide explains their functions, formatting, and when to use each.

The Hyphen (-)

What is a Hyphen?

The hyphen (-) is the shortest of the three marks and is used to join words or parts of words. It is not a dash and should not be confused with em dashes or en dashes.

When to Use a Hyphen

Compound Words

Hyphens are used in compound words to link closely related terms, especially when omitting the hyphen would cause confusion.

✅ Examples:

• Well-known author
• Long-term plan
• High-speed train

However, not all compound words require hyphens. Some evolve over time:

• E-mail → email
• Co-operate → cooperate (although co-operate is still preferred by some British publications)

Prefixes and Suffixes
Hyphens help to avoid ambiguity in words with prefixes or suffixes.

✅ Examples:

• Re-sign (to sign again) vs. Resign (to quit)
• Re-cover (to cover again) vs. Recover (to get better)
• Pre-existing condition
• Anti-inflammatory medication

Numbers and Fractions
Hyphens are used in numbers and fractions.

✅ Examples:

• Twenty-one, forty-four, ninety-nine
• One-third, two-thirds

To Avoid Double Letters or Confusion
Sometimes hyphens are inserted to prevent awkward letter combinations.

✅ Examples:

• Shell-like
• Semi-independent
• Ultra-orthodox

The Em Dash (—)

What is an Em Dash?

The em dash (—) is the longest of the three marks and is primarily used in interruptions, emphasis, and parenthetical statements.

When to Use an Em Dash

In Place of Parentheses or Commas
Em dashes can be used instead of parentheses or commas to set off additional information.

✅ Examples:

• The scientist—despite his critics—published his research.
• My sister—who has never liked spicy food—tried the curry.

BRITISH VS. AMERICAN STYLE

In British English, em dashes are less common than in American English. British writers often prefer en dashes with spaces ( – ) or parentheses.

British English:

• The scientist – despite his critics – published his research.

American English:

• The scientist—despite his critics—published his research.

To Indicate an Interruption
An em dash can show an abrupt break in thought or dialogue.

✅ Examples:

• “Wait! You mean—”
• “I thought you—never mind.”

To Add Emphasis
When placed at the end of a sentence, an em dash can highlight a dramatic point.

✅ Example:

• She had only one goal—to win.

Replacing a Colon
An em dash can replace a colon when introducing a list or explanation, making the sentence feel less formal.

✅ Examples:

• The team had one priority—victory.
• She packed everything—her clothes, books, and laptop.

🚫 Incorrect Usage:

• She packed everything – her clothes, books, and laptop. (Use an em dash, not a hyphen.)

The En Dash (–)

What is an En Dash?

The en dash (–) is longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash. It is primarily used to show ranges, connections, and relationships.

When to Use an En Dash

Indicating a Range (Replaces “to”)
An en dash is used for ranges of numbers, dates, and times, meaning “to” or “through”.

✅Examples:

• 1914–1918 (The First World War)
• Pages 50–75
• Open Monday–Friday

Expressing Relationships
En dashes are used to show connections between words, especially when they describe a relationship.

✅ Examples:

• The London–Paris flight (meaning “between London and Paris”)
• The Oxford–Cambridge rivalry

Compound Adjectives with Multi-Word Terms
If one of the elements in a compound adjective is already a hyphenated phrase or a multi-word term, an en dash is used instead of a hyphen.

✅ Examples:

• The post–Second World War period
• The Tony Blair–Gordon Brown conflict
• A high-speed rail–friendly policy

🚫 Incorrect Usage:

• The post-Second World War period (should be en dash, not hyphen)

KEY BRITISH ENGLISH NOTE:

Some British style guides (e.g. The Oxford Style Guide) use en dashes with spaces ( – ) instead of em dashes for parenthetical interruptions. Example:

• She finally arrived – nearly an hour late – to the meeting.

Final Thoughts

The hyphen (-) traces its origins to a punctuation mark introduced by the Classical Greek grammarian Dionysius Thrax in the 2^nd century BC. He devised a sublinear hyphen (‿) to indicate that certain word elements should be read together, aiding in the proper pronunciation and understanding of texts.^[2]

The terms “em” and “en” in typography refer to units of measurement. An “em” traditionally corresponds to the point size of the font; for instance, in a 12-point font, an em is 12 points wide. The “em dash” (—) derives its name from this measurement, as its length is typically equal to one em. Similarly, the “en dash” (–) is so named because its length is traditionally half that of an em, aligning with the width of the letter “N” in many typefaces.^[3]

The development of the hyphen, en dash, and em dash evolved over centuries, influenced by changes in writing practices, typography, and printing technologies. While Dionysius Thrax’s initial concept laid the groundwork, the specific uses and forms of these punctuation marks have been shaped by various contributors throughout history.­­­

HOW TO TYPE THE MARKS

Hyphen (-)

Standard keyboard key

Em Dash (—)

• Windows: Alt + 0151 (on the numeric keypad)
• Mac: Option + Shift + Hyphen (-)

En Dash (–)

• Windows: Alt + 0150 (on the numeric keypad)
• Mac: Option + Hyphen (-)

In Microsoft Word (Usually on most keyboards):

• Double hyphen (–) converts to an en dash (–). If that doesn’t work, on a numeric keypad, you can produce an en dash by using the keyboard shortcut ctrl + minus sign (-).
• Triple hyphen (—) converts to an em dash (—). If that doesn’t work, on a numeric keypad, you can produce an em dash by using the keyboard shortcut ctrl + alt + minus sign (-).

Remember:

• Use hyphens (-) for joining words and numbers.
• Use em dashes (—) for interruptions, emphasis, and parenthetical statements.
• Use en dashes (–) for ranges and connections.
• British English often prefers spaced en dashes ( – ) over em dashes (—).

By using these punctuation marks correctly, you can improve clarity and precision in writing. Mastering them will make your writing more professional and easier to read.

Appendix: The Elements of Style

A brilliant book on writing style was written in 1918 by William Strunk, Jr., for use by his students at Cornell University, where he was a professor. The book is called “The Elements of Style”.

Later, one of Strunk’s pupils, E. B. White, updated the book. White’s edition of the book, written for the general public, revised the original work, and he contributed a final chapter of his own that sought to lead the reader beyond mere correctness toward distinction in English style. Strunk’s strategy was to edit down the complexities of English grammar into just those few fundamental elements that would help people improve their writing skills. His main rule is to keep everything as simple as possible – or “Omit needless words”. For instance, he kicks off immediately with the apostrophe, the comma, and other points of punctuation which create the most common problems. Only when he has cleared these out of the way does he get down to what he calls the ‘Elementary Principles of Composition’.

“The language is perpetually in flux: it is a living stream, shifting, changing, receiving new strength from a thousand tributaries, losing old forms in the backwaters of time. To suggest that a young writer not swim in the mainstream of this turbulence would be foolish indeed and such is not the intent of these cautionary remarks. The intent is to suggest that in choosing between formal and the informal, the regular and the offbeat, the general and the special, the orthodox and the heretical, the beginner err on the side of conservatism, on the side of established usage.”

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

William Strunk, Jr. (1869–1946).
The Elements of Style, 1918

Remember that this book, albeit a masterpiece, was written in America around the time of the end of the Great War. Thus, there are some spelling and style differences from those generally used in the UK today. The book has been reproduced in its entirety (it is now out of copyright and is in the Public Domain) and is part of the Blogs by Martin Pollins available at https://martinpollins.com/2023/10/10/the-elements-of-style/

Further Resources on this Subject

• https://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/hyphenanddash/dash
• https://proofed.com/writing-tips/en-dashes-and-em-dashes-in-us-and-uk-english/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/1glim9x/what_is_the_rule_for_em_dash_and_en_dash_in_both/
• https://thewritingasylum.com/2022/05/30/hyphens-en-dash-em-dash-oh-my/
• https://accuracymatters.co.uk/how-to-use-the-em-dash-en-dash-and-hyphen/
• https://www.lighthouseproofreading.co.uk/blog/how-to-use-an-en-dash-and-em-dash-correctly
• https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/how-to-use-dashes-in-fiction-dashes-uk-and-us-style
• https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/497006/in-britain-which-is-more-common-the-em-dash-or-the-en-dash
• https://forum.languagetool.org/t/em-dash-in-british-english/1703

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End Notes Etc.

1. • Images were drawn by DALL-E, a subset of ChatGPT, on 1^st February 2025.  Source: Compiled from my research using information available at the sources stated throughout the text, together with information provided by machine-generated artificial intelligence at: bing.com [chat], https://chat.openai.com, https://claude.ai/new and https://www.perplexity.ai/. Text used includes that on Wikipedia websites is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using those websites, I have agreed to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organisation.↑
2. Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hyphen ↑
3. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash ↑