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The Street City Church

9 Hania Street
PO Box 6218, Marion Square,
Wellington
Tel +64 4 385 7315
Fax +64 4 385 7309
Email office@thestreet.org.nz

You are here > Home / Styleguide / Dashes

Dashes

The dash should not be confused with the hyphen. A hyphen is used to break a word over two lines, or to join two compound words. A dash sets off mid-sentence lists or explanations, and can be used instead of a pair of commas, or instead of a colon. Many keyboards do not have a dash key, so two short hyphens are typed as a substitute, indicating a long dash.

  • The Street City Church — an inner-city church in Mt. Victoria — is hosting the event.

or

  • The Street City Church, an inner-city church in Mt. Victoria, is hosting the event.

Use dashes to set lists apart from the rest of the sentence.

  • The visitors will discuss common problems — trade, tourism, immigration and defence — before the conference is over.

Use dashes when commas (generally preferable) would create confusion.

  • The pies — meat and fruit — were cheap.