Are you confused about when to use hyphens, dashes, or minus signs?
Many people are. Some are even unaware that there is a difference.
Take a look at this list of symbols.
Some of the differences are subtle but you can see that they do differ in length and
in the spaces before and after them.
Using the appropriate symbol shows that you are a knowledgeable and careful writer.
Correct symbol use also avoids misunderstandings of what you are trying to say.
Learning how to properly use hyphens, dashes, and minus signs is not difficult.
In this video, I’ll go through the list and show you how to create each symbol and
when to use it.
Let’s first consider the hyphen, which is used to join words.
For example, in a compound modifier, such as sea-level rise or how-to book.
With certain prefixes, such as un-American.
And numbers that are spelled out, such as twenty-one.
Note that compound modifiers require a hyphen only when they precede the noun they modify—not
when they follow the noun.
The well-known researcher needs a hyphen whereas the researcher is well known does not.
Also, a compound modifier does not need a hyphen when it contains an adverb ending in
ly.
For example, a highly respected researcher needs no hyphen.
The hyphen key is located on the keyboard between the zero and equal symbol keys.
Let’s next take a look at the minus sign.
The minus sign is used to indicate the mathematical operation of subtraction or a negative number.
The minus symbol is longer than a hyphen and similar in length and height to the plus and
equals sign symbols. You can see the minus sign in the upper equation is slightly longer
than a hyphen .
In word processing programs, you can find the minus sign in the emoji and symbol browser.
Or on a Mac, use keyboard shortcut Control-Command-Space to open the emoji and symbol browser and type
in minus.
Hover over the symbols to see the name.
This one is the minus sign. Select it to insert.
Now let’s look at dashes which are longer than hyphens and used to indicate a range
or a pause in a sentence.
The most common are En dashes and Em dashes.
The en dash is used to indicate a range of values or in certain word combinations. 5–10
meters, pp. 51–65, Houston–Dallas route, Comet Hale–Bopp.
You can find the en dash in the symbol library in MS Word.
But if you have a Mac, the easiest way is to use a keyboard shortcut.
Hold down the option key while you press the hyphen key.
The em dash, which is about as wide as an uppercase M, is used to set off or emphasize
a strong break in thought in a sentence.
An em dash is stronger than a comma but weaker than a semicolon.
In this sentence, the phrase the powerful tropical cyclones originating in the Atlantic
basin is set off by em dashes.
An em dash can also be used singly to add an explanation or to amplify a statement.
The plants failed to thrive under the higher salinity treatment, and some died—an unexpected
outcome for this particular species.
In this case, the em dash sets off a phrase that amplifies the statement of results.
If you use a hyphen instead of an em dash, you will confuse readers and make your writing
look unprofessional.
The em dash is created on a Mac by using shift-option with the hyphen key.
Or you can find it in the symbol library in MS Word.
Use the drop-down menu under insert and select advanced symbols.
Select special characters and now you see the em dash and the en dash.
Click insert and the dash is inserted into your word document.
Well, that’s a brief overview of hyphens, dashes, and minus signs.
Avoid confusion in your scientific writing by selecting the appropriate symbol.
And you may want to check out my other videos that talk about writing mistakes to avoid.