Credit: By SA Author Experience :
By Steve Brown
(Editor's Note: Even though Seeking Alpha's system tends to adjust this form of punctuation automatically, it's good for writers to know how these marks work in different contexts).
Bit of a slog reading that one, eh? Yet it's something that pops up fairly frequently for Seeking Alpha editors. Improper use of hyphens and dashes (especially when done repeatedly) can make or break the presentation of an otherwise good article. So let's get to know these two commonly mixed-up characters.
The Hyphen
Per WordPress' dashhyphen.com site, the hyphen "is the shorter mark that is often used to link two or more words together. It can sometimes be seen at the end of a line to break up a whole word that won't fit into the space." The important thing to remember is that there are no spaces before or after a hyphen.
Some common hyphenated terms provided as examples include:
User-friendly
Part-time
Jump-start
Well-known
Up-to-date
Back-to-back
Next-to-last
So how do we know which terms get hyphenated and which ones don't? Again, per WordPress, the most common use of the hyphen is for compound words, such as anti-aircraft, well-known or one-way. What about with a prefix, such as "nonfarm"? This is where it gets tricky. AP Style tells us the following:
For example: It was a non-nuclear weapon. (See how "not nuclear weapon" doesn't make sense?).
Another example: The nonprofit company is holding a charity ball. (Nonprofit can be rewritten as a not-for-profit company, so use the hyphen).
Here are some other non- words:
- Noncombat
- Noncombatant
- Nonrestrictive clauses
- Non-U.S. governmental bodies
- Non-U.S. legislative bodies
Other uses of the hyphen include instances of "double-barrelled" names, such as the aforementioned Hillary Rodham-Clinton. There aren't any hard and fast rules for such a usage and writers typically defer to the preference of the individual in question.
Additionally, hyphens are used with a compound modifier - two or more words joined to modify a noun, such as "light-blue flowers". The use of the hyphen is key here, as without it the phrase could be interpreted as a blue flower that didn't physically weigh as much as another blue flower.
Dashes
The dash is always longer than a hyphen. The dashhyphen site defines dashes and their uses as follows:
The nice thing about dashes is that they essentially have only one use - to break up a sentence when there is a disruption in the flow of thought. WordPress provides the following examples:
Hillary doesn't find Martin attractive-or so she says.
All bands desire fame and fortune-some even achieve it-but it is easier said than done.
By the way, for the curious, you can make an em-dash by holding down the "alt" button on your keyboard and then, on the numeric keypad, entering "0150", then releasing the "alt" button. More on how to find/create dashes on the keyboard is available here .
While em- and en-dashes are interchangeable in terms of use, the em-dash has largely been abandoned in favor of the cleaner presentation of the en-dash.
Another important thing to remember: Don't overuse the dash! While it can be a useful tool that adds a bit of variety to the text, too many dashes distract from the narrative and often make for an ugly presentation.
Hope that clears things up. Happy writing to you all!
See also The Nasdaq 100 QQQ ETF Continues Consolidation Thanks To Apple, Amazon, Microsoft on seekingalpha.com
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
