Re: Using M-dash and N-dash
Can you please explain the differences in the use of M-dash and N-dash?
The n-dash is about as wide as an uppercase letter N. It is used:
- as a minus sign: –30 degrees
- to indicate ranges of numbers: You will make $200–300 from this sale.
- to separate parts of sentences: She took the glass – secretly admiring its color – and raised it to her lips.
In the latter use, the n-dash is always surrounded by spaces.
The m-dash is twice a wide as the n-dash, having about the same width as an uppercase letter M. It is used to separate parts of sentences as the n-dash, but always without surrounding spaces: She took the glass—secretly admiring its color—and raised it to her lips.
It is traditional in English to use the m-dash to separate parts of sentences, not the n-dash. This has, however, begun to change over the last decades, so that you may now use either style. I am not aware of any differences between British and American use, but others are probably more qualified to comment on this.
Regards
Jan Henning
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Jan Henning
ROSEMANN & LAURIDSEN GMBH
Am Schlossberg 14, D-82547 Eurasburg, Germany
Phone: +49 700 0200 0700, Fax: +49 8179 9307-12
E-Mail: henning -at- r-l -dot- de, Web: www.r-l.de
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- Changing the file view in Open dialog boxes in Word 2002, Elizabeth O'Shea
- Re: Using M-dash and N-dash, Shankar
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Using M-dash and N-dash: From: Abhijit Sinha
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