What is the difference between an en dash and an em dash?

Length. The en dash is the length of the letter n while the emdash is (you
guessed it!) the length of the letter m.
When to use one or the other is a matter of style. Go to web and locate
Chicago Univ style as an example.

best wishes

--
Bernard Liengme
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme
remove CAPS in email address


"PreciousIvy" wrote in message
...
What is the difference between an en dash and an em dash?

Strictly speaking, the en dash is the width of an N, an em the width of a M
(capital letters). In general terms this makes an en dash about twice as
long as a hyphen in a typical font, an em dash three times as long. The
distinction of en and em dash uses varies between U.S. and U.K. usage, as I
learned to my chagrin after a long exchange with a user who I thought was
trying to make an en dash do something it wasn't meant to do!

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Bernard Liengme" wrote in message
...
Length. The en dash is the length of the letter n while the emdash is (you
guessed it!) the length of the letter m.
When to use one or the other is a matter of style. Go to web and locate
Chicago Univ style as an example.

best wishes

--
Bernard Liengme
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme
remove CAPS in email address


"PreciousIvy" wrote in message
...
What is the difference between an en dash and an em dash?

On Thu, 9 Dec 2004 06:53:12 -0800, "?B?UHJlY2lvdXNJdnk=?="
wrote:

What is the difference between an en dash and an em dash?

An em dash is longer.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk