Do I use a dash or a semicolon here, or something else entirely?
Is it
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara--bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
or
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara; it is bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
Thanks!
sentence semicolon dashes
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
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Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Is it
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara--bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
or
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara; it is bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
Thanks!
sentence semicolon dashes
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Most U.S. publishers use a closed-up em dash (—) rather than a double hyphen (--) for "dash" punctuation; some British publishers prefer to use an en dash with letter spaces on each side ( – ), I believe. The punctuation choice between dash and semicolon is a matter of personal preference. In my view, the example that you ask about reads better with the dash than with the semicolon, but other readers and writers will bring their own punctuation preferences to the question.
– Sven Yargs
2 days ago
1
You could also use a colon (personally, I might actually prefer that to a dash) or turn it into two sentences. We can't tell you what you should use.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
Is it
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara--bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
or
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara; it is bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
Thanks!
sentence semicolon dashes
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Is it
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara--bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
or
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara; it is bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing"
Thanks!
sentence semicolon dashes
sentence semicolon dashes
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
asked 2 days ago
Matthew GrahamMatthew Graham
1
1
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Matthew Graham is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Most U.S. publishers use a closed-up em dash (—) rather than a double hyphen (--) for "dash" punctuation; some British publishers prefer to use an en dash with letter spaces on each side ( – ), I believe. The punctuation choice between dash and semicolon is a matter of personal preference. In my view, the example that you ask about reads better with the dash than with the semicolon, but other readers and writers will bring their own punctuation preferences to the question.
– Sven Yargs
2 days ago
1
You could also use a colon (personally, I might actually prefer that to a dash) or turn it into two sentences. We can't tell you what you should use.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
Most U.S. publishers use a closed-up em dash (—) rather than a double hyphen (--) for "dash" punctuation; some British publishers prefer to use an en dash with letter spaces on each side ( – ), I believe. The punctuation choice between dash and semicolon is a matter of personal preference. In my view, the example that you ask about reads better with the dash than with the semicolon, but other readers and writers will bring their own punctuation preferences to the question.
– Sven Yargs
2 days ago
1
You could also use a colon (personally, I might actually prefer that to a dash) or turn it into two sentences. We can't tell you what you should use.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
Most U.S. publishers use a closed-up em dash (—) rather than a double hyphen (--) for "dash" punctuation; some British publishers prefer to use an en dash with letter spaces on each side ( – ), I believe. The punctuation choice between dash and semicolon is a matter of personal preference. In my view, the example that you ask about reads better with the dash than with the semicolon, but other readers and writers will bring their own punctuation preferences to the question.
– Sven Yargs
2 days ago
Most U.S. publishers use a closed-up em dash (—) rather than a double hyphen (--) for "dash" punctuation; some British publishers prefer to use an en dash with letter spaces on each side ( – ), I believe. The punctuation choice between dash and semicolon is a matter of personal preference. In my view, the example that you ask about reads better with the dash than with the semicolon, but other readers and writers will bring their own punctuation preferences to the question.
– Sven Yargs
2 days ago
1
1
You could also use a colon (personally, I might actually prefer that to a dash) or turn it into two sentences. We can't tell you what you should use.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
You could also use a colon (personally, I might actually prefer that to a dash) or turn it into two sentences. We can't tell you what you should use.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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You can use a dash instead of a semicolon indicating that the latter part of your sentence is the meaning or an accurate description of what you've mentioned in the former part without having an actual pause as a semicolon indicates a short pause which is not necessary in your sentence.
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara ~bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing" :)
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
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Nuskiya Nasar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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You can use a dash instead of a semicolon indicating that the latter part of your sentence is the meaning or an accurate description of what you've mentioned in the former part without having an actual pause as a semicolon indicates a short pause which is not necessary in your sentence.
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara ~bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing" :)
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
New contributor
Nuskiya Nasar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
You can use a dash instead of a semicolon indicating that the latter part of your sentence is the meaning or an accurate description of what you've mentioned in the former part without having an actual pause as a semicolon indicates a short pause which is not necessary in your sentence.
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara ~bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing" :)
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
New contributor
Nuskiya Nasar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
You can use a dash instead of a semicolon indicating that the latter part of your sentence is the meaning or an accurate description of what you've mentioned in the former part without having an actual pause as a semicolon indicates a short pause which is not necessary in your sentence.
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara ~bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing" :)
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
New contributor
Nuskiya Nasar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
You can use a dash instead of a semicolon indicating that the latter part of your sentence is the meaning or an accurate description of what you've mentioned in the former part without having an actual pause as a semicolon indicates a short pause which is not necessary in your sentence.
"In other words, you can compare my existence in the dating world with living in the Sahara ~bone dry with the occasional oasis appearing" :)
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
New contributor
Nuskiya Nasar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
New contributor
Nuskiya Nasar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
11
answered yesterday
Nuskiya NasarNuskiya Nasar
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11
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Most U.S. publishers use a closed-up em dash (—) rather than a double hyphen (--) for "dash" punctuation; some British publishers prefer to use an en dash with letter spaces on each side ( – ), I believe. The punctuation choice between dash and semicolon is a matter of personal preference. In my view, the example that you ask about reads better with the dash than with the semicolon, but other readers and writers will bring their own punctuation preferences to the question.
– Sven Yargs
2 days ago
1
You could also use a colon (personally, I might actually prefer that to a dash) or turn it into two sentences. We can't tell you what you should use.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago