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How to Use Em Dashes (–), En Dashes (–), and Hyphens (-)

(www.merriam-webster.com)
650 points Stratoscope | 9 comments | 27 Mar 25 20:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.784s | source | bottom
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Starlevel004 ◴[27 Mar 25 22:09 UTC] No.43498765[source]▶
I refuse to care about this. A single dash is all I will ever use. I see no possible reason to use the other two.
replies(13): >>43498913 #>>43499001 #>>43499172 #>>43499782 #>>43500834 #>>43500943 #>>43501907 #>>43503357 #>>43504331 #>>43505366 #>>43506816 #>>43506857 #>>43509215 #
milesrout ◴[28 Mar 25 02:47 UTC] No.43500943[source]▶
i refuse to care about this lowercase letters are all i will ever use i see no possible reason to use the other symbols

Suit yourself, but if you refuse to learn basic grammar you will be treated like you are stupid and uneducated. Like it or not, presentation matters. Getting the basics right, including things like spelling, grammar, etc, shows a basic attention to detail without which your services will likely do more harm than good.

replies(2): >>43501124 #>>43501523 #
handoflixue ◴[28 Mar 25 04:25 UTC] No.43501523[source]▶
> etc,

actually it's "etc."

(I wouldn't usually be a pedant, but if you think the difference between "--" and "—" matters, you should probably try to get the basics right too.)

replies(2): >>43502523 #>>43516888 #
1. milesrout ◴[28 Mar 25 07:28 UTC] No.43502523[source]▶
Wrong. Look at any dictionary. Etc is completely fine. What next, are you going to pretend you write N.A.S.A. or Mr. White? Come on
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2. MindBeams ◴[28 Mar 25 12:05 UTC] No.43504325[source]▶
>Mr. White

As opposed to what, exactly?

replies(1): >>43509492 #
3. handoflixue ◴[28 Mar 25 15:10 UTC] No.43506435[source]▶
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/etc. - even the URL has the period, and I did in fact look this up before replying :)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/etc even redirects to the correct URL with a "."

replies(1): >>43509483 #
4. zamalek ◴[28 Mar 25 15:52 UTC] No.43506927[source]▶
Etc. is an abbreviation for etcetera. Correctly signifying contractions, abbreviations, and acronyms is far more commonplace than using the correct dash. Almost everyone would have learned about shortening words in high school; many people leave university without ever having heard of an em dash.
replies(1): >>43509540 #
5. milesrout ◴[28 Mar 25 20:19 UTC] No.43509483[source]▶
Merriam-Webster is an American dictionary and therefore totally irrelevant to me.
replies(1): >>43530035 #
6. milesrout ◴[28 Mar 25 20:20 UTC] No.43509492[source]▶
Mr White, which is correct English. I believe Americans might put a dot after these abbreviations, but nobody else does.
7. milesrout ◴[28 Mar 25 20:28 UTC] No.43509540[source]▶
Etc is also an abbreviation of et cetera. Only Americans put pointless dots everywhere.

This is all stuff you learn in school. Punctuation isn't obscure or niche. You may not have learnt about semicolons or em dashes in school but you should have and I did. As did anyone that has ever read a novel. There are two semicolons on the first page of the first Harry Potter book, a novel read by approximately every child of my generation. There are loads of examples of the proper use of dashes and other "obscure" punctuation marks in any professionally typeset text.

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8. zamalek ◴[28 Mar 25 20:48 UTC] No.43509684{3}[source]▶
> Only Americans

I was raised and educated in Africa, specifically the GCSE curriculum. I was taught to use etc.

9. handoflixue ◴[31 Mar 25 02:12 UTC] No.43530035{3}[source]▶
You said "look at any dictionary", so I did. I notice you can't provide a link to a single dictionary that supports you, or even name what dialect supposedly doesn't have "etc."