Dashes

Abstract

Four of the most common ways to use a hyphen are: 1. At the end of a sentence A. Use for a word that is too long to fit at the end of a sentence. Use the hyphen at the end of a syllable. Ex. " First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl name Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey " (O " Brien 462). 2. With prefixes and suffixes A. For prefixes, use a hyphen with ex-, all-, and self-Ex. ex-husband, all-encompassing, etc. B. For suffixes, use a hyphen before-elect Ex. governor-elect 3. With compound words Ex. mother-in-law 4. With compound numbers A. Use a hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. Ex. My sister turned twenty-eight on our grandmother " s eighty-second birthday. 1. Use dashes for Special Emphasis A. Use a dash to set off a word or phrase that is not essential to the main idea in order to emphasize. Ex. " The care-takers—those who are helpers, nurturers, teachers, mothers—are still systematically devalued. " —Ellen Goodman, " Just Woman " s Work " (Troyka and Hesse 446) B. Commas or parentheses can also be used in place of dashes. However, they do not provide the same importance or urgency.