Hyphens

Hyphens (-) are used:

• To indicate that a word has been split between syllables at the end of a line.
  

  e.g. The two boys had intended to commun-
  icate with their parents daily, but unfor-
  tunately they forgot all about it.

  In your writing try to avoid splitting words like this. It is better to leave a wider gap and start the new word on a new line. Never divide words of only one syllable:

  e.g. think, time, used, end.



• To join words to make a combined idea:
  

  e.g. a self-made man
  the vice-president of the company
  his brother-in-law and his daughter-in-law
  one-tenth of his income
  He is extremely well-behaved.
  They are non-smokers.
  He is a happy-go-lucky student.

• To show meaning in word use:
  

  e.g. They have two year-old cars. which means They have two cars, each one-year old.
  They have two-year-old cars. which means All their cars are two years old.
  He will re-cover the chair. which means He will put a new cover on it.
  He will recover the chair. which means He will get the chair back.

• To show pronunciation, especially when two vowels occur together:
  

  e.g. re-establishment
  re-enter
  co-operation
  co-ordinate

  In practice, nowadays, there is a move to leave out hyphens, unless they are really important to show meaning.

Dashes

Dashes ( - ), like commas, colons, and semi-colons, indicate pauses in sentences. Use them sparingly, or the meaning of your writing can be hard to work out.

They are used:

• To introduce (and end) an explanation, or a break in thought:
  

  e.g. It was hard - we didn't know what to expect - but we made it.
  Take short breaks - five minutes every hour - when you are studying.
  We will see - when I find it, that is - the latest video of our play.

  Note: Brackets could be used in place of the dashes in the above examples.

• To show that a speaker has been interrupted:
  

  e.g. "It's going to be a long time before- ."
  "What's that you are saying, Jack?" interrupted Tom.
  "I said it's going to be a long time before we save that much money."

• In place of a colon, before a list:
  

  e.g. We took - a tent, an old cooker, a brand-new parka and a torch.
  They were all late - Tom because of the weather, Linda because she missed the bus, and William because he didn't get up until 10 a.m.

Brackets

Brackets ( ) have the same function as a pair of dashes, or a pair of commas.

They are used:

• To mark out the additional information not essential to the sentence:

  e.g. The very next day (Thursday) his uncle arrived from Taupo.
  Eating all that bakery food (buns, pies and cakes) made him ill.
  She was late getting up (after all, it was her birthday).

• To show references and instructions:

  e.g. The Origins of World War I (Chapter 7, page 65) is our new topic.
  Avoid poor spelling (see the lists in the back of your book).