Dashes, Parenthesis & Colons

1. Dashes, Parenthesis & Colons

2. *Text from Ben Yagoda’s “Mad Dash” Using Dashes • Dashes are used for two main purposes. • The first is what I call the Pause Dash. It more or less says to the reader, “Right here, I want you to take a breath. What you will read next relates to what you have just read in an interesting way, and I would like to emphasize it.” When using dashes this way, you are allowed only one per sentence. • EXAMPLE: “Food manufacturers were now being blamed for childhood obesity from all sides — academia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.” • EXAMPLE: “There was only one thing missing from the pirate ship – the pirates.

3. *Text from Ben Yagoda’s “Mad Dash” Using Dashes • The second main category is the Parenthetical Dash, • Dashes are deployed in pairs and set off nonessential elements of the sentence. When using dashes this way, limit yourself to one pair per sentence. • In addition, make sure dashes are placed in such a way that, if the material within them is removed, the sentence still makes sense. • EXAMPLE: “More than half of American adults were now considered overweight, with nearly one-quarter of the adult population — 40 million people — clinically defined as obese.” • How do the parenthetical dashes effect how you read this example sentence?

4. *Text from Ben Yagoda’s “Mad Dash” A third use for dashes • Indicates disjointedness • EXAMPLE: “I saw Bill yesterday — wait, is that a helicopter up there? — never mind.” • Used more for creative writing than academic writing

5. *Text from Ben Yagoda’s “Mad Dash” So when should you use dashes? • Writers who deploy this mark comfortably and adeptly are conscious of the rhythm and dynamics of a sentence • A well-placed dash adds energy and voice. • A period is sometimes referred to as a “full stop,” so think of the dash as fully a three-quarters stop. It proposes a long pause — slightly longer than a parenthesis, significantly longer than a comma. • Example: Let’s consider the most versatile piece of punctuation — the dash. That’s right — I’m talking about the horizontal line formed by typing two hyphens in a row. It’s the mark that — unlike commas, periods, semicolons and all the others — doesn’t seem to be subject to any rules.

6. Re-write the following paragraph using dashes and parenthetical dashes Lindsay Lohan moves through the Chateau Marmont as if she owns the place, but in a debtor-prison kind of way. She’ll soon owe the hotel $46,000. Heads turn subtly as she slinks toward a table to meet a young producer and an old director. The actress’s mother, Dina Lohan, sits at the next table. Mom sweeps blond hair behind her ear and tries to eavesdrop. A few tables away, a distinguished-looking middle-aged man patiently waits for the actress. He has a stack of presents for her.

7. Using Parenthesis Parenthesis are for clarification (or whispering to the reader).

8. Parenthesis • Parenthesis (which you don’t want to use too often) are used to surround a part of a sentence that is good information to have, but not necessary. • Think of it as a kind of whisper to the reader about something, or a quick clarification. Unlike a dash, you always need to enclose your phrase or paragraph with parenthesis. • Example: “Donald Trump grew up in a big house (some two dozen rooms, twenty-foot Georgian columns on the portico) in the same borough of New York.” • Example: Most of the guests had hamburgers. (Tom was the only exception.) • If you were to take out the parts of the above sentences inside the parenthesis, the sentences would still make sense.

9. Parenthesis • Parenthesis are used when the information inside them needs to be surrounded by something less exciting and dramatic as a dash (or parenthetical dashes) • You can put everything from just one word, a short phrase, a sentence and even an entire paragraph inside a set of parenthesis

10. What’s the difference between the sentences below? • “Donald Trump grew up in a big house (some two dozen rooms, twenty-foot Georgian columns on the portico) in the same borough of New York.” • “Donald Trump grew up in a big house – two dozen rooms, twenty-foot Georgian columns on the portico – in the same borough of New York.”

11. What’s the difference between the sentences below? • Most of the guests had hamburgers. (Tom was the only exception.) • Most of the guests – Tom was the only exception – had hamburgers.

12. Re-write the paragraph using parenthesis Driving home during the holidays, I found myself trapped in the permanent traffic jam on I-95 near Bridgeport, Conn. In the back seat, my son was screaming. All around, drivers had the menaced, lifeless expressions that people get when they see cars lined up to the horizon. It was enough to make me wish for congestion pricing — a tax paid by drivers to enter crowded areas at peak times. After all, it costs drivers about $16 to enter central London during working hours. A few years ago, it nearly caught on in New York. And on that drive home, I would have happily paid whatever it cost to persuade some other drivers that it wasn’t worth it for them to be on the road.

13. Colons: Not just a part of the body

14. Colons: • Colons are used to tell the reader that the upcoming phrase or word is closely related to the one that came before it • It can be used to amplify or exaggerate a point, introduce further details or begin a list • It has more of an effect than a comma, it’s more formal than a dash and has less power to separate two phrases than a semi-colon

15. Colons only follow independent clauses – that means they shouldn’t come at the end of a full sentence. Right Wrong We are going to the store: we are buying milk, eggs and cheese. We are going to the store to buy the following items: milk, eggs and cheese.

16. More do’s and don’ts: Colons also shouldn’t split up a verb from what’s doing the action, and shouldn’t split up an object from its preposition. Right Wrong Wrong: Your dedicated guitar player only requires: a guitar, a pick and a chair. Your dedicated guitar player only requires three things: a guitar, a pick and a chair.

17. Colons can introduce quotations: • The squalor of the streets reminded her of a line from Oscar Wilde: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” • Orwell’s pessimism about government can be summed up in his most striking line from 1984: “Imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever” (233).

18. Semi-Colons “Do not use semicolons. [They represent] absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

19. First, some terminology • Clause: A string of words that make grammatical sense and contain a subject and a predicate • Predicate: A predicate can be a verb, adjective or noun so long as it modifies or explains the subject Examples: Gus never smilesThe cat sneezedBigtruck

20. How to use them (JK Rowling’s works are entertaining) (they are full of engaging characters). = JK Rowling’s works are entertaining, since they are full of engaging characters. = JK Rowlings’s works are entertaining; they are full of engaging characters.

21. How to use them (I had never been in that place before) (it was as dark as a tomb). = I had never been in that place before, and besides, it was as dark as a tomb. = I had never been in that place before; it was dark as a tomb.

22. The most practical use of semi-colons: a clear way to add info to a list • Semi-colons also help break up lists so you can put more information in them. Note the differences between these two sentences: Flights were offered to Corfu, the Greek island, Morocco, Elba, in the Mediterranean, and Paris. Margaret thought about it. She had been to Elba once and had found it dull, to Morocco, and found it too colorful. Or… Flights were offered to Corfu, the Greek island; Morocco; Elba, in the Mediterranean; and Paris. Margaret thought about it. She had been to Elba once and had found it dull; to Morocco, and found it too colorful.