Dash or Semicolon?

Question

When is it appropriate to use a dash rather than a semicolon?Both are used to connect two ideas, but is there any distinctive difference between the two?

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

This is my opinion.
The semicolon is a well established and very useful punctuation mark.
I think the dash is a very doubtful 'punctuation mark' that's still looking for work.

Maybe someone will take this opportunity to convince me that the dash actually has a useful role.

Enoon · Answer

Avoid semicolons as a rule. Avoid em dashes, too, in non-fiction. There are times, though, when nothing else will do: "The election—that is what we're getting all worked up about now."

The Chicago Manual of Style devotes two pages to the em dash in the chapter on punctuation. The AP Stylebook has a couple of paragraphs. It is a legitimate mark of punctuation that can hold its head up alongside the comma and the colon. It has fallen into disuse because of the primitive keyboards that Bill Gates has forced upon us. Don't despise it. It is particularly useful in dialogue, where the colon and semicolon are absurd, and where it is indispensable to denote breaks.

To answer the question, the em dash is the Type O of the punctuation world. You can use an em dash every time in place of a semicolon joining two independent clauses, but you shouldn't do that in non-fiction writing. In fiction and conversational typing like we do here, the dash is less technical and intrusive than a colon or semicolon.

Canadian45 · Answer

enoonAvoid semicolons as a rule. That's a drastic statement! I'm surprised that it hasn't been commented on earlier.
Avoid em dashes, too, in non-fiction. That pretty much covers my writing, so maybe it's not surprising that I haven't found a use for the dash. There are times, though, when nothing else will do: "The election—that is what we're getting all worked up about now." But one can write something like 'The election is the thing that we're getting all worked up about now.' Or you could use a comma instead of a dash.
You can use an em dash every time in place of a semicolon joining two independent clauses, That certainly hasn't caught on. In fiction and conversational typing like we do here, the dash is less technical and intrusive than a colon or semicolon. I wasn't aware that colons and semicolons are too technical and intrusive.

Regardless of what we say here, people will use or not use the dash, as they see fit. As far as my writing here goes, I have never used a dash. And I have not I felt that my repetoire of punctuation marks was lacking.
The last thing I will say about the dash is that, in things like magazines and newspapers, there don't seem to be consistent 'rules' relating to the dash's use. For example, sometimes you see it used instead of a comma, and sometimes it precedes "and".

Enoon · Answer

canadian45I have never used a dash

I hadn't realized there was an anti-dash faction. C'mon, try a dash or two—you might like it.

Canadian45 · Answer

enoonC'mon, try a dash or two—you might like it.

Anything is possible, but I am not very adventurous and I wouldn't know where to start. Also, I like commas and semicolons; they are my old friends.

BarbaraPA · Answer

I use em-dashes frequently in my non-fiction, business writing.

One very useful purpose they serve is to enclose parenthetical information that is a bit too long or complex to fit neatly inside bracketing commas and where an actual set of parentheses might seem to casual or breezy.

I also use them when a colon might work, but would feel a little stilted. I don't object to colons myself -- I just rarely use them.

Canadian45 · Answer

Grammar Geek I just rarely use them.

me too

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