Re:How to Use Em Dashes (–), En Dashes (–), and Hyphens (-)
by mmooss on Friday March 28, 2025 @02:51PM
(#43508779)
So as not to mislead anyone, the parent is mostly incorrect:
Semicolons must have independent clauses—phrases that could form a full sentence on their own—on both sides of them; they are essentially alternatives for periods. Em dashes don't require independent clauses on either side.
In the italicized sentence,
* phrases that could form a full sentence on their own is not an independent clause, but valid between em dashes (which function like commas or parentheses here).
* The parts before and after the semicolon are independent clauses. You could replace the semicolon with a period and you'd have perfectly valid grammar. I just chose to connect the two sentences a bit more.
I don't know if you can use em dashes as the parent comment describes, connecting three independent clauses:
* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet—I eat them all summer.
I think the above is wrong; it should be one of the following:
* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet—and I eat them all summer.: The last section is a dependent clause made by "and", not an independent clause.
* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet; I eat them all summer.
Maybe there are examples I'm not thinking of? I infer that the rule might be that the punctution following the em-dashed clauses should be the punctuation that would have been used without the em-dashed clause, but that's based on very limited evidence.
Semicolons must have independent clauses—phrases that could form a full sentence on their own—on both sides of them; they are essentially alternatives for periods. Em dashes don't require independent clauses on either side.
In the italicized sentence,
* phrases that could form a full sentence on their own is not an independent clause, but valid between em dashes (which function like commas or parentheses here).
* The parts before and after the semicolon are independent clauses. You could replace the semicolon with a period and you'd have perfectly valid grammar. I just chose to connect the two sentences a bit more.
I don't know if you can use em dashes as the parent comment describes, connecting three independent clauses:
* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet—I eat them all summer.
I think the above is wrong; it should be one of the following:
* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet—and I eat them all summer.: The last section is a dependent clause made by "and", not an independent clause.
* My favorite fruit is peaches—they are very sweet; I eat them all summer.
Maybe there are examples I'm not thinking of? I infer that the rule might be that the punctution following the em-dashed clauses should be the punctuation that would have been used without the em-dashed clause, but that's based on very limited evidence.