Em Dash (—) | How to Use and Examples
The em dash (—) is a long dash that is used in a sentence to separate extra information, expand on a clause, or indicate a break.
Its name comes from the fact that, historically, it was approximately the same length as a typeset M.
The movie—predictable as it was—was a hit with audiences.
It’s like my grandpa always said—fortune favors the bold!
When to use an em dash
Em dashes are most frequently used for three purposes:
- To set off nonessential information, similar to parentheses or commas around nonrestrictive clauses or appositives
- To introduce additional information, similar to a colon
- To mark a break in a sentence, similar to a semicolon
| Purpose | Em dash example | Alternative punctuation example |
|---|---|---|
| Set off unnecessary information | Inflation—which is a measure of how quickly prices are increasing—has been rising steadily for the past 18 months. | Inflation, which is a measure of how quickly prices are increasing, has been rising steadily for the past 18 months. |
| Everyone is concerned about inflation—the rate of increase in prices. | Everyone is concerned about inflation (the rate of increase in prices). | |
| Introduce additional information | There’s only one thing to do now—tighten our budget. | There’s only one thing to do now: tighten our budget. |
| Mark a break in a sentence | The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates—it may be too late, though. | The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates; it may be too late, though. |
The choice of whether to use an em dash or other punctuation is often stylistic. Em dashes are generally seen as marking a larger break than other punctuation. Additionally, they are often considered less formal. Ultimately, though, there is a lot of flexibility, and writers often use em dashes to vary their sentence structure.
One instance where the em dash is very valuable is setting off information that’s already enclosed in parentheses since nested parentheses should typically be avoided.
The ice cream shop only makes three flavors (vanilla, chocolate, and—surprisingly—pineapple).
Em dashes are also sometimes used for a few other purposes:
- To attribute a quotation to someone
- To mark dialogue (especially in creative writing)
—I went to the store, like I told you.
—And it took three whole hours?
- To indicate an interruption in dialogue
“Monday? The campaign is supposed to launch this Friday!”
Consult the style guide you are using to make sure you are using the preferred punctuation. All of the major academic style guides (APA, MLA, and Chicago) recommend that em dashes be used without spaces.
Em dash vs en dash
There are two types of dashes in English:
- The en dash (–) is shorter and is used to indicate a range, such as a page range (pp. 68–72), or to mean “to” in phrases like “the London–Leeds train.”
- The 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.
Both of these dashes are different from a hyphen (-), which is the shortest and is used to join words in compound adjectives (e.g., “well-read” or “old-fashioned”).
| British English (en dash) | American English (em dash) |
|---|---|
| The actor – who was known to be a jerk – offended everyone on the set. | The actor—who was known to be a jerk—offended everyone on the set. |
| As usual, marketing has an unrealistic demand – they want this done by tomorrow. | As usual, marketing has an unrealistic demand—they want this done by tomorrow. |
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using en and em dashes correctly.
How to type an em dash
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.
Alternatively, you can use the shortcuts shown in the table below:
| Mac | Windows | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| option + shift + hyphen (to the right of the 0) | Alt + 0151 (on the 10-key numeric keypad) | Press and hold the hyphen (-) key. Select the longest dash. |
| Windows + period to bring up the symbols menu |
In most word processing programs, you can also navigate to “Special characters” or “Symbols” under the Insert menu to find an em dash.
Frequently asked questions about em dashes
- 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.
