Jimi Hendrix -a master guitar player if there ever was one-was left-handed.Įm dashes are especially useful for clarity if the additional information that would normally be set of by commas has additional commas itself:.Jimi Hendrix, a master guitar player if there ever was one, was left-handed.The following example shows how the same sentence can use either commas or em dashes: Em dashes are typically seen as more attention-grabbing than commas, so they are especially useful to focus a reader’s attention on surprising or unexpected information. We can use an em dash, or multiple em dashes, in place of commas that set off additional information or asides. However, the em dash is usually viewed as being more informal than these other punctuation marks, so writers will often use em dashes sparingly but effectively when they want to draw a reader’s attention. In general, it is not considered to be grammatically correct or incorrect to use an em dash over any of the punctuation marks or vice versa. Rather than have its own unique usage, the em dash is typically used in place of several other punctuation marks: the comma, the colon, the semicolon, or the parentheses. Green -a man I always suspected-was the true culprit. I love kittens -who doesn’t?-but that doesn’t mean I want to adopt 50 of them.I think something might be wrong with Jeff -he thinks he is a squirrel.After days of deliberation, the jury came to its final verdict -not guilty.As you read each sentence, try to see if you can figure out what other punctuation mark was replaced by an em dash. The following sentences show different ways that we can use an em dash.

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