When do you use a hyphen in a sentence?

Hyphens are used in sentences in many ways. They connect words (or parts of words) that act together as a unit.

Hyphen examples
Type of word	Example sentence
compound adjective	He is a well-known actor.
compound noun	My sister-in-law is an engineer.
number	There are twenty-five students in my class

There are many rules about when hyphens should and should not be used. QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you use hyphens correctly in your writing.

When do you use a hyphen in a sentence?: Punctuation

How do I type an em dash on a Mac?: To type an em dash (—) on a Mac computer, hold down option + shift and press the hyphen key (to the right of the 0).

Alternatively, for many programs and applications, you can type an em dash by typing two or three hyphens (-) in a row. The program will automatically convert this to an em dash.
How do I type an em dash in Word?: In Microsoft Word, there are several ways to type an em dash (—):

While typing a sentence, you can type two hyphens (-) where you want the em dash to be. As you continue typing, Word will automatically convert this to an em dash.

On a Mac computer, you can hold down option + shift and press the hyphen key (to the right of the 0).

On a Windows computer, you can hold down Alt and type 0151 on the numeric keypad.

If you don’t have a numeric keypad, you can press the Windows button + period (.) to bring up the symbols menu.

You can navigate to “Symbols” under the “Insert” menu to manually add an em dash.
What’s the difference between an em dash and an en dash?: An en dash (–) is shorter and is used to indicate number ranges (e.g., “1958–1985”) or as a substitute for the word “to” in phrases like “the Albuquerque–Los Angeles flight.”

An em dash (—) is longer and is used like parentheses or commas to set off extra information or like a colon or semicolon to indicate a break in a sentence. For example: “My brother—well, technically my half-brother—is coming to visit this weekend.”

In British English, en dashes are used like em dashes. In this case, they have a space on either side. For example: “My brother – well, technically my half-brother – is coming to visit this weekend.”

A QuillBot Grammar Check can help you ensure you use dashes correctly.
Should there be spaces around an em dash?: Typically, there is no space around an em dash (e.g., “The flight—which had already been delayed three times—was canceled”).

One notable exception is that Associated Press (AP) style requires spaces around an em dash, so you may see this in news articles (e.g., “The flight — which had already been delayed three times — was canceled”).

Consult your style guide to see what is preferred. All of the major academic style guides (APA, MLA, and Chicago) recommend not putting spaces around em dashes.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you make sure you are using em dashes correctly.
What is an m dash?: The term “m dash” is a misspelling of em dash, which is the long dash used to indicate a break or to set off additional information in a sentence (e.g., “The rain—which has not let up for days—is predicted to end on Sunday”).
What does a hyphen look like?: A hyphen (-) looks like a very short line. It is shorter than an en dash (–) and an em dash (—). It is also different from an underscore ( _ ).

On a computer keyboard, it is to the right of the zero (0) key. On a phone keypad, it is in the number menu, just underneath the “1” key.

Hyphens are used to connect words or parts of words (e.g., “self-reliant,” “semi-independent”).
How do I type an en dash on a Mac?: To type an en dash (–) on a Mac computer, hold down option and press the hyphen (-) key (to the right of the 0).
How do I type an en dash in Word?: There are several ways to type an en dash (–) in Microsoft Word:

On a Mac computer, you can hold down option and press the hyphen key (to the right of the 0).

On a Windows computer, you can hold down Alt and type 0150 on the numeric keypad.

If you don’t have a numeric keypad, you can press the Windows button + period (.) to bring up the symbols menu.

You can navigate to “Symbols” under the “Insert” menu to manually add an en dash.
What is an n dash?: The term “n dash” is a misspelling of en dash, which is the dash that is used in number ranges (e.g., “pp. 207–221”), among other uses.

The en dash is longer than a hyphen (-) but shorter than an em dash (—).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you use punctuation correctly.
What’s the difference between an en dash and a hyphen?: A hyphen (-) is shorter than an en dash and is used to connect words in compound adjectives (e.g., “fast-paced,” “old-fashioned”) or compound nouns (e.g., “seven-year-olds,” “jack-of-all-trades”).

An en dash (–) is slightly longer and can be used for several purposes:

To indicate number ranges (e.g., “2020–2024”)

To indicate a relationship or connection (e.g., “the London–Dublin train,” “the employer–employee relationship”)

To connect complex compound adjectives (e.g., “the Booker Prize–winning novelist”)

In many everyday writing situations, the hyphen is used in place of the en dash because it is easier to type. However, it is important to know the difference for academic and professional writing contexts.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you ensure you’re using different types of punctuation correctly.