Which Dash is a super-simple resource to help you better understand the difference between a few commonly used dashes. We hope this guide pushes your "grammar" gas pedal from 0–60 and allows you to educate yourself and others—providing us the privilege of earning a spot in your bookmarks. —Will & Aaron
Em Dash —
Interrupts a sentence when an additional thought is needed, commonly replacing the need for parenthesis.
Examples
He forgot his deodorant—a situation that resulted in a series of unfortunate events.
"May I borrow your stick of deodorant?" —Anonymous
Apply it
Copy the character
—
Mac Keyboard
option+shift+-
Windows Keyboard
alt+0+1+5+1
html code
—
En Dash –
Connects two items designated by range or duration.
Examples
The borrowed deodorant was in use October 6–10, 2012.
He requested the deodorant sometime between 7–9am.
The team avoided a stinky situation from Cincinnati–Cleveland.
Apply it
Copy the character
–
Mac Keyboard
option+-
Windows Keyboard
alt+0+1+5+0
html code
–
Hyphen -
Brings two items together that are closely related and turns them into a single idea.
Examples
The deodorant was freshly-applied.
Its odor-reduction capabilities were astounding.
The deodorant was no more than two years old at that time. A three-year-old stick of deodorant would have been disgusting.