Punctuation Department · Today with The Mayor

Hyphen & Dash

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Hyphen & Dash

Tap an officer to meet them, then work through each one.

Join two words with a hyphen

A hyphen is the shortest joining mark: it joins words into one unit. It is shorter than the dash, and the two do opposite jobs, the hyphen joins while the dash breaks.

In a sentence

A two-day trip is short.

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 (like a comma) can mark a pause or a break for effect. An ellipsis (three dots) marks an omission or a trailing off, and that mark is Officer Period's, taught next.

In a sentence

She paused -- then she spoke.

Now you try

Use a dash where a comma would be too quiet. Like: My brother -- a chef -- cooks dinner.

The ellipsis: three periods for an omission

An ellipsis is three periods in a row. It marks an omission (words left out of a quotation) or a trailing off in dialogue or thought. Officer Period guest-teaches it because an ellipsis is three of his marks.

In a sentence

She waited ... and waited.

The report said the plan was ... successful.

Now you try

Three periods in a row. Like: She waited ... and waited.

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

A last-minute change -- again -- delayed us.

He whispered ... and was gone.

Now you try

A hyphen joins two words; a dash breaks or sets a part off.