Hyphens, Dashes, & Parentheses Chapter 11

Here’s the idea… Hyphens, dashes, and parentheses help make your writing clear by separating or setting off words or parts of words.

Hyphens Use a hyphen if part of a word must be carried over from one line to the next. The word must have at least two syllables to be broken. Correct: num-ber Incorrect: co-de

For example Ms. Walsh was extremely hap- py when her friends came to visit Chicago.

Hyphens Always separate words between syllables Correct: let-ter Incorrect: lette-r

Hyphens You must leave at least two letters on each line Correct: twen-ty Incorrect: a-cross

Hyphens Use hyphens in certain compound words. Examples: half-dollar great-grandmother

Hyphens Use hyphens in compound numbers from twenty-one (21) through ninety-nine (99) Examples: sixty-three twenty-six

Hyphens Use hyphens in spelled-out fractions Examples: two-thirds three-fourths

Let’s Practice! When I take my cousins to the carnival, they love to go on the merry go round.

My brother is thirty five years old.

When I make oatmeal for breakfast, I have to include one fourth cup of boiling water.

My great grandmother was named Ottilia.

Last winter was terrible; it was extremely cold out side.

My dad gets along well with my grandmother; his mother in law.

Mrs. Lilly had a busy summe- r planning for her wedding.

Next year, my brother will turn twenty one.

The cookie recipe called for two-thirds of a cup of sugar.

Dashes Use dashes to show an abrupt break in thought. Example: Louis Braille –who lost his sight at age three- invented an alphabet for blind people.

Dashes Another example: Ms. Walsh - who fell and broke her arm at age 10- is deathly afraid of bunk beds.

Parentheses Use parentheses to set off material that is loosely related to the rest of a sentence. Example: Each six-dot cell stands for a character (a letter of the alphabet, a number, a punctuation mark, or a contraction).

Parentheses Another example: Mr. Agnew ate a pear (a yellow colored fruit) at lunch today.

Let’s Practice! Decide: Should you use dashes or parentheses?

My favorite holiday is Halloween ___ Kit Kats are my favorite candy.

My mom grew up on a farm __ she likes to tell stories about her childhood __where they raised cattle and grew crops.

It’s fun to run a marathon __ which is 26.2 miles in length __ as long as you have trained properly.