Tap an officer to meet them, then work through each one.
Join two words with a hyphen
A hyphen joins two or more words into a compound modifier when they act as one describer before a noun (a well-known author, an ice-cold drink). Use no spaces around a hyphen.
In a sentence
She is awell-knownauthor.
I drank anice-coldsoda.
Now you try
Two words acting as one describer before a noun. You could try ice-cold, well-known, or first-place.
Set off or break with a dash
A dash can set off a nonrestrictive element, the same job a pair of commas (Chief Comma) or a pair of parentheses (Defense Attorney Parentheses) can do. The dash is the loudest of the three. It is written as two hyphens (--) when typed.
In a sentence
My brother--a chef--cooks dinner.
The trail--steep but short--ends at the lake.
Now you try
Use a dash where a comma would be too quiet. Like: My brother -- a chef -- cooks dinner.
Three marks, three jobs
A hyphen joins words into one unit (the shortest mark). A dash sets off or breaks a sentence for emphasis (longer). An ellipsis, three periods, marks an omission. Each does a different job; tell them apart by length and by what they do.
In a sentence
Awell-knownauthor spoke.
The room--now empty--echoed.
Now you try
A hyphen joins two words; a dash breaks or sets a part off.
You met all 2 officers. Ready to work the cases? Take the Hyphen & Dash quiz.