The Many Uses of an Em Dash (—)
Use an em dash to introduce information that explains, amplifies, and builds upon a previous statement.
- I can help you win—if that is what you want.
- We need more people like her—people who stand up for the truth.
- All forms of public transport—trains, buses, ferries, metro—are shut until further notice.
- I’ve been charging the phone for an hour—it won’t turn on.
The em dash helps separate the parts of a sentence. It is a versatile punctuation mark that can take the place of commas, parentheses, colons, and semicolons in sentences.
An em dash can also mark dialogue, signify an interruption, indicate a sudden break in thought, and introduce a list.
- I want—I don’t know what I want.
- My mother was—is—a teacher.
- Luxuries turn into necessities—refrigerators, microwave ovens, air conditioners, personal computers, mobile phones.
- Cats, dogs, rabbits, turtles—we treat all small animals.
Em dashes are more emphatic and dramatic than other punctuation marks such as commas and colons, and are seen more often in informal and creative writing than in formal texts.
To provide additional information
Use em dashes in place of commas to enlarge upon ideas and present additional information, especially when this information is not closely related to the text.
- Maya made a decision that day—a decision that would lead to an unexpected adventure.
- She waved at us—a sad, hopeful little wave.
- My mother was a kind woman—impatient, irritable, irascible, but kind.
An em dash is often simply called a dash.
Also use an em dash instead of a comma to avoid ambiguity—for example, to set off a list that already contains commas.
- Her children—Poco, Tiko, and Loco—attended the ceremony.
- Maya has published four books—a biography, a poetry collection, and two novels.
- All forms of payment—credit cards, gift cards, checks, cash—are accepted here.
- Three animals—a bear, a panther, and a tiger—feature prominently in this story.
- Poco—who already owns four cars, one of which is a Porsche—has bought himself a Ferrari.
Additional information can also be enclosed in parentheses (or brackets, as they are called in British English). However, parentheses diminish the importance of the text they enclose. If the information is important and you want it to stand out, use em dashes instead.
Remember to “close your dashes.” An em dash is needed both before and after a parenthetical element.
- Incorrect: While studying—well, pretending to study, Nesbit fell asleep.
Correct: While studying—well, pretending to study—Nesbit fell asleep. - Incorrect: Three people—the researcher, her assistant, and the subject of the study together received the award.
Correct: Three people—the researcher, her assistant, and the subject of the study—together received the award.
To amplify a statement
Use an em dash to introduce new information that explains or builds upon something that precedes it.
- What was more distressing was the sense of loss—not only had he lost his partner but also his best friend.
- Maya thought it a magnificent house—it had huge bay windows, an elegant driveway, and a gabled roof.
Both a colon (:) and an em dash (—) can be used to explain or build upon a statement. The colon is quieter, while the em dash is more dramatic, which is why it is seen more often in informal and creative writing than in formal texts, where the colon is preferred.
The em dash can also be used in place of a semicolon (;) to connect two closely related clauses. (Semicolons are more formal than dashes.)
- I’ve tried everything—nothing works.
- People say they hate airports—not me—I love the bustle and activity and watching everyone know where they’re going.
- At the corner I turned around and waved at her—that was the last time I saw her.
To introduce a list
An em dash can replace a colon to introduce a list or series of elements in a sentence.
- Lulu wants it all—fame, fortune, adventure, and comfortable sandals.
- We serve confectionary—cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and candy.
In formal texts (such as academic and business writing), prefer to use a colon over a dash to introduce a list.
To front a list
The em dash can also be used to start a sentence with a list. This technique is especially useful when the listed elements appear unrelated at first glance, but their description helps the reader link them together.
- Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, and warm woolen mittens—these are some of Julie Andrews’ favorite things.
- A black tie, a silk jacket, and woolen pants—that is all Farley wore to the North Pole.
- Porcelain cats, beaded boxes, wooden monkeys—the room was filled with knickknacks.
A single noun phrase at the start of a sentence can also be followed by an explanatory statement set off by an em dash.
- Procrastination—it will always be my nemesis.
- Truth—does it even mean anything to you?
- A hot cup of tea—that’s all I need to relax.
To mark an aside
Use em dashes to mark an aside and present information tangential to the meaning of a sentence.
- My new sandals—I bought them just yesterday—have fallen apart.
- The cat—she had been yowling since 4 a.m.—curled up and fell asleep when the alarm rang.
- The apple—or what I thought was an apple—was made of plastic.
- Her father—that is, the man who claims to be her father—turned up this morning.
To signal a sudden break
Use em dashes to set off a sudden turn in thought in a sentence.
- The thief—or was it a ghost?—vanished just as I peeked out the window.
- I saw—hey, what’s that?—I saw something strange streak across the sky.
- Maya loves—no, she adores—black roses.
Pauses can similarly be signified by an em dash in writing.
- “Could you—atishoo!—could you pass me a tissue?”
- “I want—I want nothing at all, really.”
To punctuate dialogue
Writers sometimes use em dashes instead of quotation marks to mark dialogue.
- —Do you think he’ll keep his promise?
—I hope so, but who can tell? He hasn’t been himself for days.
To signify interruption
Interrupted speech is shown by means of an em dash.
- “I really think—”
“It’s no use. There’s nothing else we can do.”
Use an ellipsis (. . .) to indicate an unfinished thought but an em dash to show interrupted speech.
- Unfinished thought: “I think . . .”
Interrupted speech: “I think—”
In poetry
Em dashes can be used in poetry to explain an idea or signify a break in thought.
- “For I have known them all already, known them all—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons . . .”— T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” 1915
Emily Dickinson is famous for using dashes to great effect in her poems.
- “Forever—is composed of Nows—
’Tis not a different time—
Except for Infiniteness—
And Latitude of Home—”— Emily Dickinson, “Forever—is composed of Nows— (690),” 1863
Of course, unless you are one of the great reclusive poets of the nineteenth century, avoid using quite so many em dashes.
The source of quoted material (e.g., an author’s name) can be presented using an em dash.
How to insert an em dash
To insert an em dash in Microsoft Word, use one of these ways, whichever you find convenient:
- On Mac OS, press Option+Shift+hyphen key to type an em dash.
- If your keyboard has a numeric keypad, hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press the minus sign on the numpad: Ctrl+Alt+minus (on numpad).
- If your keyboard has a numeric keypad, hold down the Alt key and press 0151 on the numpad: Alt+0151 (on numpad).
- Go to the Insert menu. Choose Symbol, click the Special Characters tab, highlight the em dash, and click Insert.
- Type two hyphens one after the other (--), type the word that comes after the em dash, and press Space on your keyboard. Voila—the double hyphen turns into a single em dash! (This magic only works if AutoFormat is enabled in Word.)
In software that does not support extended (or Unicode) characters, it is acceptable to use two hyphens (--) in place of an em dash. In applications such as Notepad and other text editors, copying and pasting from Word works.
Spaces around em dash
Spaces do not typically enclose em dashes in academic and business writing. In news copy, however, spaces often surround this dash.
- “Let’s consider the most versatile piece of punctuation — the dash.”
— “Mad Dash,” The New York Times, October 22, 2012
- “Pelosi outlines a path to victory for House Democrats in 2020 — and guarantees it”
— Headline in The Washington Post, April 6, 2019
In print, typographers may prefer to surround the em dash with spaces. Spaces are not generally used in electronic copy.
Spaced en dash in British usage
In British style, a spaced en dash is used instead of an em dash.
- “His only possessions were a canvas bag, a pair of torn trousers and a blanket – all as filthy as himself.”
— Paul Scott, Staying On, 1977
- “Not just this second, but the next and the next – all the time in the world.”
— Zadie Smith, White Teeth, 2000
- “He worked with a group of volunteers – largely students and other anti-war activists – to build an artificial roof to hold the shark outside his studio.”
— “‘It went in beautifully as the postman was passing’: the story of the Headington Shark,” The Guardian, April 7, 2019
Examples from published content
Here are some examples from writing that show how em dashes can help provide additional information that explains or amplifies a statement.
During the Second World War, countless manuscripts—diaries, memoirs, eyewitness accounts—were lost or destroyed. Some of these narratives were deliberately hidden—buried in back gardens, tucked into walls and under floors—by those who did not live to retrieve them.
— Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces (1996)Growing older is mainly an ordeal of the imagination—a moral disease, a social pathology—intrinsic to which is the fact that it afflicts women much more than men.
— Susan Sontag, “The Double Standard of Aging,” Saturday Review (Sep. 23, 1972)Not responding is a response—we are equally responsible for what we don’t do.
— Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals (2009)
The following examples show how an em dash is more emphatic than a comma or a colon, and how it can add drama to a sentence.
One would think a writer would be happy here—if a writer is ever happy anywhere.
— Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye (1953)A little-known United Nations agency decided to make an impact by doling out loans and grant money—all to a single family. It did not go well.
— “Why Did a U.N. Agency Give a Family $61 Million?” New York Times (May 7, 2022)
And in this example, we see how em dashes can enclose an aside or other tangential information.
Then I noticed two flat stones in the ground, a distance of a few feet—six feet?—from the upright stone.
— Alice Munro, “Meneseteung,” Friend of My Youth (1990)