Depending on the context, the en dash is read as “to” or “through. The exclamation point and question mark denote strong emotion or a question, respectively. To create interrupted dialogue that everyone will recognize as such, use an em-dash where you want to end the dialogue. In fact, the em dash is named after its length—it’s. “What are you talking about—wait, Johnny said it was Maria!”. However, since interjections are not “proper” sentences, some writers prefer to attach them to a complete sentence using a comma or, if more emphasis is desired, an em dash. Share. pages 11–23. Dashes are used in the following five ways: To show in ranges for numbers or dates (e. | Grammar The em dash performs a versatile function to help separate certain words from the rest of a sentence. Em Dash vs. British authors often prefer to use an en-dash ( – ) with spaces on either side rather than the em. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons —in each case to slightly different effect. The dash ( — ), also called the em dash, is the long horizontal bar, much longer than a hyphen. An em dash or colon is part of the same toolkit, but they serve slightly different purposes. ” Em dashes are the most versatile, nuanced, and. b) The Kingdom of Bahrain has a settled well-educated population. A hyphen (-) is shorter still. You’ve probably heard of hyphens and em dashes, but what about en dashes? Learn what they are and how to use them with this helpful article. Etc. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The employee—hoping to go home early—rushed her tasks. Most likely it's an en dash or em dash rather than a real hyphen or minus symbol. A hyphen is no substitute for the versatile em dash, a sentence punctuation mark some may simply call "dashes. Intuition is important to survival: studies show that instinct can beat analytical thinking in a crisis. It is wider than an en dash (–) or a hyphen (-). Although these punctuation marks look similar at a glance, they are actually distinct punctuation marks with specific intended uses and with distinct unicode character values. Breaking dialogue into multiple paragraphs. The em dash in American English is a punctuation mark that helps to convey emphasis, introduction, interruption, or a swift change of thought. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. The em dash, also known as the mutton dash or em rule, refers to the em. Rule #5. You may see an EN dash used in the same way as the EM dash. The en dash also signifies an abrupt change. If you want to stop -- from being turned into — (emdash) you need to use the + button and add a new rule to replace -- with -- (replace with itself) Or, right click in a text field and go to "Substitutions" and disable "Smart. For example, to type the em dash ( — ), hold down Alt while typing 0151 on the numeric keypad. It is longer than a hyphen (-) or an en dash (–). It’s known for being a one-job punctuation mark because it simply communicates questions. This eliminates option B. Use a dash instead of a comma when you want to strongly set off an idea. 2] In braille, a dash is represented by dots 6, 36 (,-). "Four!"Em Dash (—) Question Mark (?) Slash (/). When a pair of em dashes sets off material ending with an exclamation point or a question mark, the mark is placed inside the dashes. The en dash will appear in the text field where your cursor is. In British usage, we use only a single hyphen to. The en dash, which is slightly shorter, and the em dash, which is the one you can see in the previous paragraph. An em dash is the width of the letter "m" in the font and type size being used, and should never be used in place of an en dash or hyphen. Example: apple orchard–scented candle. 🙽. Dashes and hyphens aren’t the same thing. En dashes are slightly shorter than an em dash and are used to connect numbers and words: 2000–2020, Paris–London, the score was 5–3. . The correct punctuation would be: Jenny said, “That’s unbelievable!”. So:Figure 1. Quotation from wiki ( Em dash) When an actual em dash is unavailable—as in the ASCII character set—a double ("--") or triple hyphen-minus ("---") is used. dashes Use a true em dash inserted from the symbol menu (not one or two hyphens), and use spaces around dashes (“Jo — a Washingtonian — hates rain”). However, The Oxford Style Manual notes that “many British publishers use an en rule with. “This is my book,” said María calmly. 1)”Can we go to the cinema?” she asked. This is really useful if you're a few words over the 650 word limit and need to trim a bit. Em dashes can be used similarly to parentheses and commas, however, they are usually considered. There is no piece of punctuation that means pause. Punctuation is the tool that allows us to organize our thoughts and make it easier to review and share our ideas. Although the en dash and em dash are the most commonly used types of dashes, there is another type of dash called the 3-em dash (the size of three em dashes). The comma is the punctuation mark most likely to cause angst. When you want to highlight the end of your statement without giving it all to a colon, use an em dash. The em dash is primarily used to emphasize or add additional information to a. -->if the information being set off is at the end of the sentence, use just one em dash. To create the em dash on a Macintosh-based system, hold down the Shift and Option keys and press. On a Windows-based system, you can form an em dash on a keyboard by holding down the Alt key and typing 0151. In particular, do not use the colon-dash (:—) to introduce a quotation or a list. 6. To show a break in narration or conversation in place of an ellipsis. I've never heard about en dashes being used for em dashes. 2 Answers. It indicates a longer pause than a comma and a semicolon. It’s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. 8. Enclose the first part of the dialogue in quotation marks but omit the comma. Below is a list of punctuation marks written in English; translate each term into French. In formal writing, an em dash is the width of an m and longer than both a hyphen and an en dash. , “fast-paced,” “shake-up,” “four-year-old,” “post-punk. 1. ] There’s even more explanation: If the break belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than to the quoted material, the em dashes must appear outside the quotation marks. A dash is a punctuation mark that resembles a hyphen, but longer. ). Several options will pop up, including the em dash. The em dash does not mean pause. “Yes, you did!”. I use the alt code - alt+0148. The standard English punctuation is as follows: period, comma, apostrophe, quotation, question, exclamation, brackets, braces, parenthesis, dash, hyphen, ellipsis, colon, semicolon. The term “em dash” comes from the field of typography—an “em” is a width equivalent to the height of a given font. The en dash is used to represent a span or range of numbers, dates, or time. Type another word. If your teacher says not to use it then do not use it for work that is submitted to your teacher. Workaround. [Emphasis mine. They are usually used in two different ways. Hold down. The Unicode standard introduced a separate character U+2015 ― HORIZONTAL BAR to be used as a quotation dash. In the image below (1) is a hyphen, (2) is an en dash and (3) is the em dash. The Space In French Punctuation. But in that case the dash is supposed to be the length of the omitted word, not just a mere em-dash. . If you want to use hyphens before and after your text, click AutoCorrect Options. There is nothing wrong — informally at least — with using a dash after a question. e. Intuition is important to survival: studies show that instinct can beat analytical thinking in a crisis. Comments. [Emphasis mine. Wagon and waggon are different spellings of the same word meaning, among other things, a sturdy four-wheeled vehicle for transporting things. Should a question mark be used after an em dash that abruptly ends a sentence? Ask Question Asked 1 year, 4 months ago Modified 4 months ago Viewed 168 times 4 I. A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. )6. 2. 2. Em Dash: —. The other function is to punctuate compound modifiers that include an open compound or two or more hyphenated compounds. ) To offset additional information just like commas and. It can be used to separate the elements of a date: 10 septembre 1973 = 10. In general, the em dash is seen as being more interruptive or striking than other. apostrophe. American usage puts the month first, followed by the day, and then the year. Any grammer Nazi's out there that have the answer, please do so ASAP. 6. The web's most comprehensive guide to American punctuation. Francisco Santa Cruz, Strategic Communication – Advertising and Public Relations major with a minor in Mathematics; Em dash. The em dash is a versatile punctuation mark that can be used in both formal and informal writing. I know I could—and probably should—just remove the question mark, having only the em dash for separation, but then that gets rid of that question-like tone I want the reader to have. You can use it at the end of a broken-off phrase, or if a. Pre-electric typewriters normally had only the hyphen-width dash to apply to situations calling for em dashes, so the usual method in U. These two types of dashes serve different purposes: The EN dash, the shorter of the two dashes, is used to mark ranges. Capitalize only the following words: the first word of the title or heading. There are three options: Period. If your style guide calls for spaces around a dash, you use a different character altogether, the "en-dash. - The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Em Dash: What Is an Em Dash? The em dash in American English is a punctuation mark that helps to convey emphasis,. Examples. This is a good example of when to use such as dash in a sentence. Examples. To Indicate Interruption in Dialogue, Use An Em-Dash. . Thoreau believes that “if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life. Dashes are used to separate two words into statements. Style guides often let you skip them. There are also some other rules regarding what to do if the title includes a question mark, ellipsis, or a colon already. On a Mac: En dash—press option+hyphen key. A single em dash character or a tilde may also be used. However, you can use dashes or em-dashes. m. The ellipsis suggests that Isaac cannot concentrate. This usage explains the dialog part of your question. Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes fall inside or outside closing quotations. An em dash is often used to indicate a break in thought in a sentence. These, along with the other 12, are all listed neatly and explained for you here. [Emphasis mine. In the image below (1) is a hyphen, (2) is an en dash and (3) is the em dash. This will insert the em dash symbol into your Word document. APPLICATION. The question mark needs to go after Language. Example: “I didn’t say—”. Hyphen. But to show a true interruption, the kind that occurs when a speaker is cut off in the middle of sentence or a word, we’ll need something stronger than a comma—namely, an em dash (see also CMOS 6. In the "Text" tab you will find the list of substitutions. Semicolons separate two independent clauses. However, some style guides, such as the Associated Press. 8. (Note that AP style does not use en-dashes. Em dashes for interruptions: Use em dashes when you are interrupting the main idea of a sentence. 87 Em dashes for sudden breaks or interruptions; 6. Both spellings are many centuries old, and neither spelling was clearly prevalent on either side of the Atlantic until the second half of the 18th century. In the second example below, an em dash is more common than a colon, though the use of a colon is nevertheless correct. In Google docs, use insert special character. The em dash symbol is a single, longer horizontal line — that should not be confused for an en dash - or a hyphen. When the dash is used, the change in the thought or sentence structure should be evident and distinct. To type an en dash, press Option + hyphen (-) To type an em dash on keyboard, press Shift + Option + hyphen (-) The only problem is that to use. At a fundamental level, an Em dash is used to create a strong break in the structure of a sentence. Sometimes, the comma indicates a pause that would occur if the sentence were spoken aloud. 89: "In modern usage, a question mark or an exclamation point—but never a comma, a colon, or a semicolon—may. The em dash “—” and the en dash “–” are the two most popular dash forms. ”. Command (⌘) + M. There are specific rules for punctuating that, too: StutterThe Function of the Em Dash The em dash ( — ) is usually an alternative to another punctuation mark. Some word-processing programs have a mark called an em-dash (longer than a hyphen), which can be used with no space before or after it. The em-dash would indicate something like raising the eyebrows right at the end, or tilting the head down and looking up from under the eyebrows. Being so versatile can create confusion if overused, therefore it is best limited to two appearances per sentence. It is shorter than an em-dash and longer than a hyphen. Em dashes are compelling punctuation marks, rich with punctuation possibilities. Resume the dialogue with another opening quotation mark, complete the dialogue, and end with a period and a closing quotation mark. “I didn’t expect to — “An em dash or a pair of em dashes may indicate a sudden break in thought or sentence structure or an interruption in dialogue. En dashes are incredibly useful punctuation marks, used to add extra emphasis to a sentence or statement. In order to type an en dash on a Mac product, you can hold down the ‘Option’ and ‘-‘ keys simultaneously and an en dash ‘–’ should appear. Always follow the punctuation rules in formal writing to make your work clearer and more readable. Household appliances such as refrigerators and microwaves are. Em Dash (—) An em dash is one of the three kinds of dashes that functions like a comma, a colon, or parentheses in introducing a clause. When print spacing or font types make it difficult to determine the length of the line, remember that hyphens join words and word parts together and dashes separate thoughts or ideas. For example, don’t use a dash to begin the interrupter and a comma. In informal writing, feet and inches are sometimes expressed as, for example, 5′ 10″ (read: five feet and ten inches). 👉 Em dash Mac: hold down the option + shift + the hyphen keys and viola! 👉 Em dash Word: tap the minus sign twice and continue writing. , em dash, en dash, or hyphen), you should put the footnote marker before it. ] There’s even more explanation: If the break belongs to the surrounding sentence rather than to the quoted material, the em dashes must appear outside the quotation marks. Dashes might look like hyphens, but they aren’t the same. The em dash is used when an idea is being interrupted, when clarification is needed, when elaboration is needed, or when items are being listed in a sentence. En dash. Should a question mark be used after an em dash that abruptly ends a sentence? Ask Question Asked 1 year, 2 months ago Modified 2 months ago Viewed 164 times 4 I looked through a number of the site's questions to find an answer to my problem. Both the colon and the em dash introduce new information that explains or builds upon something that precedes it. The en dash will appear in the text field where your cursor is. While the em dash is used to indicate a sudden break or interruption in a sentence, the en dash is primarily used to show a range or connection between two elements. Collingwood as Mr. ago. 1月—7月 "January to July", which can also be written 1月到7月, with the character 到 in place of the dash). Other Types of Dash. Press the spacebar. a) She is wearing a new yellow dress, and looks clean and neat. Your specific issue regards "smart quotes," "em dashes" and "en dashes. Don’t be confused: punctuation can change!) Also, em dashes don’t get along with periods at all. S. Em dashes can be used in the following ways: 1. However, if the punctuation mark is a dash (i. Whether it's better to use a comma here or an em dash is another matter. Follow the end quotation mark with an em dash and the action or thought and then another em dash. Proper use of punctuation marks can greatly enhance the readability and effectiveness of written communication. This little symbol is beloved. 2. In terms of punctuation marks like this, the em dash is the most extended dash, which can replace parentheses, colons, and commas. Consider the difference between the sentence above and the one. It has three primary functions: to connect two words and make them into a compound, to separate parts of a word at the end of a line, and to separate a prefix or suffix from a root word. Press the Spacebar. The longer em dash (—) is used to separate extra information or mark a break in a sentence. Below is a list of punctuation marks written in English; translate each term into French. However, it depends on the usage and meaning. An em dash creates an interruption in a sentence like a semicolon, but with flair (we’re partial). Just consider the following guidelines: • Note that em-dashes are more emphatic than commas. En dashes are used to indicate relationships or interactions and ranges. Here are the code points for the Unicode dashes that are of the Common script, along with their general categories. "Three—red, white, yellow—are my favorites. For example, don’t use a dash to begin the interrupter and a comma. NOTE: An em dash is not a hyphen. Hold down the Alt key, press 0 1 5 0 on the numeric pad, and then release the Alt key. parentheses. The main use of em dashes is to set off extra information in a sentence. En dashes have a space on either side of the dash – like this. The difference between a parenthetical comment using parentheses, and one using em dashes, is probably a matter of style. Most of the time, adverbs will end in the letters -ly but there are some exceptions to this rule such as the words “very” and “never”. Mark said: “I am confused if I should finish them with one of the final stop punctuation marks (when, as I read, 1- every sentence must be finished by an appropriate punctuation mark [the final stop], and 2- neither the dash nor the ellipsis are the final stop punctuation marks). This type of dash is used to indicate a range, especially between numerical quantities like scores and dates. Ah, the ol’ 疑問符 (ぎもんふ ) — gimonfu, a. They also can be used to focus a reader or highlight tone within a dialog. Character escapes used in markup include numeric character references (NCRs) and named character references. The shift from em dash to en dash reflects contemporary writing practice and the new focus on digital content. The final, foolproof way to type an em dash in Word is to go to the. It should be noted that dashes are almost never required by the rules of grammar and punctuation. It was originally a humorous and slightly sanitized version of the curse word, but it has become the standard form. “A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses. It also has several uses, which we will look at below. For example, with mo—n for 'more than', the dash is likely to be written at x-height. Punctuation marks, like words and paragraph breaks, are tools. The general rule is that a sentence ends with only one terminal punctuation mark. Exclamation point. ) When it’s in the middle of the sentence, it doesn’t need to be followed by a comma. Enclose the first part of the dialogue in quotation marks but omit the comma. What is the difference between en and em dashes? The shorter en dash (–) is used to mark ranges and with the meaning “to” in phrases like “Dover–Calais crossing. The correct use of dialogue tags. An em dash (—) is used to mark an interruption, as mentioned above (“What the—”), or material set off parenthetically from the main point—like this. It is longer than both the en dash and the hyphen, and its length is equal to the width of the letter “M” in the given font. Esempi: When the course finally started — nearly two months after it was organized — the student could not attend. […] All water from the streams; dead birds were found In wells a hundred feet below the ground Such was the season when the flower bloomed. g. This appears when you move the pointer over the corrected hyphen. When the dash is used, the change in the thought or sentence structure should be evident and distinct. Household appliances such as refrigerators and microwaves are. Use a dash in dialogue to show an interruption or a sudden break in thought. Actual output : 1993 1995 Expected output : 1993 – 1995 I have done the UTF-8 encoding in Java but still getting the same output in the excel. Don’t overthink it—let intuition guide you. I have to warn them—no, no what am I doing? An ellipses indicates omission, which is what I think you are looking for. Type a word. Numeric Keypad: Windows allows the user to type any available character, including diacritical marks, by holding down one of the Alt keys while typing in a numeric code on the numeric keypad, if one is available. 2 - En dashes are shorter than em dashes. To illustrate, I’m going to reproduce the first sentence of this paragraph, but with a semicolon: 'Break/Fold Mark'. The most flexible and versatile punctuation mark—the Em Dash. Have you a reason why you think curved brackets should be abandoned in favour of dashes in this particular example? The linked article doesn't contrast differences in availability or effect between the punctuation variants available. The president’s speech both began and ended with the word “freedom. Quotation marks may be used to indicate that the. Comillas españolas (Angle Quotes) and Comillas inglesas (Quotation Marks) Where to Practice Using Spanish Punctuation; Find and Correct the Mistakes in the Following. Treat etc. 1. In Word, you’ll hold down Shift+ Option+minus rather than the Ctrl+Alt+minus mentioned above. Fiber is the preferred spelling in American English, and fibre is preferred in all the other main varieties of English. Em dashes are most often used in pairs to call a reader’s attention to the material they set off, making words, phrases, or clauses particularly dramatic or emotional. (I would even have removed to in that construction, so that the parallel starts at the verbs assume and become. If you're including terminal punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation mark), your speaker's sentence isn't being interrupted, so you wouldn't use em dashes at all. ManhattanMss New Member. First, one is longer: The em dash (—) → which is like two hyphens joined together. I agree that it should try to match the size of the missing word. The hyphen (-) should be used in compound names and words as follows: In phrasal adjectives, which follow “three basic rules: (1) Generally, if it is placed before a noun, you should. For example, one em in an 18-point typeface equals. 1 Answer. Then, click Undo Dash. apostrophe. The most common versions are the en dash –, generally longer than the hyphen but shorter than the minus sign; the em dash —, longer than either the en dash or the minus sign; and the. A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark used to connect two or more words (or parts of words) to show that they form one unit of sense—e. If the parentheses include an exclamation or question mark: Our road trip to Florida — we love to drive to see all the sights on the way! — took three days to. Between independent clauses linked by a transitional expression. Em dashes can be used to replace pairs of commas and parentheses. Examine these useful hyphen, em dash and en dash examples. 7. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. Em dash: 2015 ― Horizontal bar: 2017 ‗ Double low line: 2018 ‘ Left single quotation mark: 2019 ’ Right single quotation mark: 201A ‚ Single low-9 quotation mark: 201B ‘ Single high. left single quotation mark: 146 ’ right single quotation mark: 147 “ left double quotation mark: 148 ” right double quotation mark: 149 • bullet: 150 – en dash: 151 — em dash: 152 : ⃜ : small tilde: 153 ™ trade mark sign: 154 : š : Latin small letter s with caron: 155 › single right-pointing angle quotation mark: 156 : œ. And an example:There are two primary types of dashes: the em dash (—) and the en dash (–). Two em dashes can be used to indicate missing portions of a word, whether unknown or intentionally omitted. [4] 3. 2. , 1 May–13 June) To divide a compound adjective with two equal parts (e. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons—in each case to slightly different effect. g. Follow the end quotation mark with an em dash and the action or thought and then another em dash. "SAMPLE - TEXT". If you want to make your writing easier to read and generally look more professional, you should know what. It thus performs many of the same functions as commas, parentheses, and colons, but with a bit more drama—a “wait for it” tension that tends to lend emphasis to whatever it introduces. ex. It indicates that the width of a printed matter is equal to its point size or height. Authors can easily remember the difference. An em-dash can be used alone, as in this example from the online The Punctuation Guide: After months of deliberation, the jurors reached a unanimous verdict—guilty. A hyphen (-) is the shortest “dash” and. Enclose the first part of the dialogue in quotation marks but omit the comma. 1月—7月 "January to July", which can also be written 1月到7月, with the character 到 in place of the dash). It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes. Em dashes are the longest of the common dashes (I won’t be covering 2-em and 3-em dashes in this article) and are so named because they are the width of the letter “m. In general it is the same length as an em-dash, and so this is often used instead. The em dash, or long dash, is the only punctuation mark on a keyboard that. This technique is best suited for creative or informal writing. Usage: The em dash is used to indicate interruptions, emphasize elements, set off appositives, replace colons or semicolons, or create breaks in sentence flow. The report covers the period 1998–1999. Select the Close button to close the Find and Replace dialog box (see figure 7). The en dash, often overlooked, is a punctuation mark that can be used in place of an em dash. The first is in pairs—doing this right here can help you to segment a side piece of information—or they can be used to break a sentence into a separate section nearer the end. They are useful for emotionally-loaded dialogue interruption, because emotions act quickly on the brain. It can also be used to indicate each person’s speech in a dialogue. Interrupters—like this right here—are words, phrases, or clauses that break the flow of writing. I tried using sharpkeys but it wouldn't let me use a chord, only single key press. newspaper publishing was to represent an em dash with two. Identify the sentence that is punctuated correctly. Look at it. This type of dash is usually used to omit a person's name or. Windows. ”. Edit: I wrote this sentence just for the question, actually hoping to avoid being bogged down by too much context, but since the first commenter felt it was lacking, I've adjusted the text a little bit. ) The question mark can be used to indicate editorial uncertainty, either in parentheses or in brackets. In Unicode, the em dash is U+2014 (decimal 8212). The longer EM dash is used as a break or to separate additional information in a sentence. Em Dash (—) Indicate an interruption or an abrupt changeAnywhere formal typography appears, an en dash might pop up. By changing the console code page to something that does support the en dash character, such as 1252, this problem may be corrected. An en dash is always used without any space before or after it. I have the same issue in my asp. And when em dashes are setting off material that requires a punctuation mark like a question mark or exclamation. Go to the system preferences and choose "Language & Text". Hyphens are used to create compound words like: Load-bearing; Well-loved; Great-looking; Less-commonly used punctuation marks Interrobang. Em Dashes The em dash is the longest line among these marks of punctuation (—). When interrupters fall midsentence, always use a pair of punctuation marks to surround them. Your example is (almost) a perfect illustration. m. Two types of dashes are used in punctuation: the em-dash (—) and the en-dash (–). Whenever I have text surrounded by a dash symbol i. g. A hyphen. Using Em Dashes (–) and Em Dashes (—) There are two different kinds of dashes: (1) en dashes and (2) em dashes. The change in the second description of the clock's sounds emphasizes Isaac's unease. —dijo María con calma. Learn more about punctuation. Aether (or æther) is an obsolete spelling of the noun with various definitions relating to air, chemical compounds, and nonexistent clear elements filling outer space. These dashes differ not only in their length but also in the function they perform in a sentence. The em dash is used to represent how the first speaker is being interrupted by the second. • Dashes are often used to introduce an. In Arabic, which is also written from right. Don’t use end quotes between paragraphs of speech. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons —in each case to slightly different effect. Notice in these examples, the em-dash has no spaces around it, while the en-dash does. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. . En Dash: –. The em dash (—) is a versatile punctuation mark used to enhance the readability and clarity of written text. Incorrect. It shows continuity between numbers and indicates that a multiword term is part of a compound adjective: “The conference runs January 2–3”; “The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists were applauded. Technically, the mark designating feet is a prime; the mark designating inches is a double prime. 3. Many people use these two dashes interchangeably. The en dash is shorter than an em dash but longer than a hyphen. ”. If the action is in the middle of a sentence, use em dashes outside the quotation marks. It can be used in the middle of a sentence. For windows, you can hold down the ‘Alt’ and ‘-‘ key and you will get an en dash. The em dash, also known as the long dash or mutton dash, is a punctuation mark used in writing to indicate a pause or break in a sentence. Make sure you switch on the Num Lock from the keyboard and you type the number from the Numpad and not from the top row of the keyboard.