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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Colon or Dash?

0 Hi, I've been learning about colons and dashes on another site and there are a couple of examples I'd like some advice on.02br
00Have a look at the following sentences:02br
02br
01b00"Only one course was open to us: surrender."02br
02b00Could this be written as 01b00"Only one course was open to us--surrender."?02br
02br
00"There was only one thing left to do--study till dawn"02br
02b00Could this be written as 01b00"There was only one thing left to do: study till dawn."?02br
02b02br
00Personally I think the dash puts more emphasis on the following word(s).02br
00Does it matter which one I use within this context?02br
02br
00Thanks in advance02br
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Top answer

0 I don't think it matters whether you use a colon or a dash in those sentences. 0-

— Conchita57

  • 0 I don't think it matters whether you use a colon or a dash in those sentences.
  • 0-
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3 Answers
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0 I don't think it matters whether you use a colon or a dash in those sentences. Some say that the colon is a bit more formal.0-
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0 Thanks, thats what I thought.02br
00Anymore feedback is apprciated = >0-
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0 01b01font00I believe a dash is used to indicate a pause in the speech. Yours are fine. I like to think of a colon as being more than just a pause; I like to think of it as a equals sign in math (=). Yours all fit that condition as well. 02font02b00 0-
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