Correct usage.

Question

Her past was not an issue, but her charity work, that mattered.

She heard a knock at the door, then nothing.

It was what they feared losing the most— their life.

It is something you cannot afford to miss —this opportunity.

Their not cat's, their dogs.

Are these examples punctuated correctly?

her charity work, that mattered. (We may say it like this for effect with emphasis on 'that mattered'.

But it appears ungrammatical.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Here are corrections.

Her past was not an issue. It was not her past but her charity work that mattered.

She heard a knock at the door, then nothing. OK

It was what they feared losing the most— their life. It's better to say 'lives' here. I'd use a comma, not a dash.

It is something you cannot afford to miss —this opportunity. You cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

Their not cat's, their dogs. Theyre (ie they are) not cats ,they're dogs.

Are these examples punctuated correctly? See above. Don't get into the habit of using a lot of dashes.

It often leads to ''lazy writing".

her charity work, that mattered. (We may say it like this for effect with emphasis on 'that mattered'.

But it appears ungrammatical. See my correction.

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