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

I'm not a native English speaker, but don't you use the ";" in English ?

To me, it feels like it is the same purpose as the EM dashes.

And I discovered the EM with ChatGPT, I've never seen it before.

Dashes surround a sub-clause - something like this - which is like a parenthetical addition to a sentence that could stand alone without it; semi-colons (';') connect a further sentence or part of one where perhaps a full-stop and additional word could have been. They also sometimes separate list items following a colon, especially if the things listed are longer sentences perhaps themselves containing commas that'd otherwise be ambiguous.

Em dashes are very similar to semicolons. You use em dashes if your related sentence is in the middle of another sentence, and semicolons if it's at the end.

They're frequently used in skilled and professional grade writing.

A semicolon connects, whereas an em-dash creates more of a pause and therefore separates. In addition, em-dashes can be used in pairs to create a parenthesis, which semicolons can’t. I think with time you will appreciate the difference.

https://thenarrativearc.org/blog/2020/2/4/epic-grammar-battl...

So as not to mislead anyone, the parent is mostly incorrect:

Here's an example sentence: Semicolons must have independent clauses—phrases that could form a full sentence on their own—on both sides of them; they are essentially alternatives for periods. Em dashes don't require independent clauses on either side.

In the italicized sentence,

* phrases that could form a full sentence on their own is not an independent clause but is valid between em dashes. on both sides of them, after the em dashes, is also not an independent clause. (The em dashes function like commas or parentheses here.)

* The parts before and after the semicolon are independent clauses. You could replace the semicolon with a period and you'd have perfectly valid grammar. I just chose to connect the two sentences a bit more.

I don't know if you can use em dashes as the parent comment describes, connecting three independent clauses:

* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet—I eat them all summer.

I think the above is wrong; it should be one of the following:

* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet—and I eat them all summer.: The last section is a dependent clause made by "and", not an independent clause.

* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet; I eat them all summer.: One both sides of the semicolon are independent clauses; I could replace the semicolon with a period.

Maybe there are examples I'm not thinking of? I infer that the rule might be that the punctution following the em-dashed clauses should be the punctuation that would have been used without the em-dashed clause, but that's based on very limited evidence.

Many people don't use semicolons (;) in English but many do, and they are certainly part of correct grammar.

Semicolons are generally alternatives to periods, when you want more connection between the two sentences. Like periods, semicolons must have two full sentences—that is, what could be full sentences—on either side of them; the potential 'full sentences' are properly called independent clauses. (A dependent clause needs the rest of the sentence to form valid grammar; it can't function on its own. For example, in this paragraph's first sentence, when you want more connection between the two sentences is a dependent clause. Often they follow commas.)

Another use of semicolons is for lists in a paragraph where one of the list items has a comma in it (similar to the parsing problem for CSVs where some records contain commas): I only like wine; beer, but only ales; and orange juice.