Hyphens, Dashes, and Slashes

Hyphen -
En dash          slightly longer than a hyphen
Em dash         slightly longer than an en dash
Slash     /

Backslash    \

Hyphen
A hyphen is used when two words are joined together to function as an adjective (or compound modifier) before a noun.

Before a noun, hyphenate:

This is a load-bearing wall.

After a noun, no hyphen:

This wall is load bearing.

(Some stylebooks [e.g., AP Style] retain hyphens after a noun, especially when connected with a to be verb.)

                                                                This wall is load-bearing.

Hyphens are often used with prefixes—letters or words added to the front of an existing word to create a new meaning.
                self-service          ex-girlfriend          all-inclusive          cross-country

Hyphens are often used with suffixes—letters or words attached to the end of an existing word to create a new meaning.
                                                president-elect

Do not hyphenate ly adverbs that are part of compound modifiers.

        Sue and James are a happily married couple.

In MLA Style, numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine are hyphenated. Numbers that are more than two words are written out in numerals.

En Dashes
En dashes are used for ranges between numbers and dates.
            25-350              5-4              1960-1978

Em Dashes
Em dashes can be used for abrupt changes of thought, asides, or emphasis; they are used instead of commas or parentheses.

                    An archer has an awareness of what his goal is—hitting a target.
                    Certain sports—football, hockey, and soccer—are hard on his knees.

Slashes

A slash is used to mean or, and, through, or per.

If one likes the car, he/she can take it out for a drive.

The job pays $80/day.

A dull coat and/or lethargy are signs of poor health in cats.

In the 1979/80 term, she accomplished most or her goals.

Slashes are used in dates.

3/19/64

3/19/1964

Many web addresses have backslashes (\).

Most stylebooks do not suggest a space on each side of a hyphen, en dash, or em dash. AP Style places a space on each side.

Colons

Colons indicate amplification or illustration—the second clause amplifying or illustrating the first.
    The temperature of the fridge is important: if it is not at the right temperature, food will spoil.

    The temperature of the fridge is important: If it is not at the right temperature, food will spoil (see AP Style below).

A complete sentence (a complete independent clause) precedes a series.
We wanted to visit three cities in Quebec: Montreal, Laval, and Sherbrooke.
AP Style allows a fragment to precede a list.

Three cities in Quebec are: Montreal, Laval and Sherbrooke.  

When a colon introduces a series or sentence, the word after the colon is lowercase, unless it is a proper noun (a particular person, place, or thing).
You can pick her up from the doctor: she got a clean bill of health.

You can pick her up from the doctor: Barbara got a clean bill of health.
AP Style capitalizes the first word after a colon if what follows is a complete sentence.
You can pick her up from the doctor: She got a clean bill of health.

Colons are used to introduce a quotation within a paragraph or a block quote (for quotes more than forty [40] words or four [4] lines).
John Lennon once observed: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
AP Style prefers a comma for one-sentence quotations.
John Lennon once observed, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

A colon sits outside of a quote, unless the colon is a part of a quote cited.
Martin yelled to the crowd: “Shut up!”
"Martin yelled to the crowd, 'Shut up!'" he said.

A colon is used to separate a title from a subtitle. The first word of the subtitle is capitalized.
God’s Existence: Convincing and Converging Proofs

A colon is used for time, biblical citations, and legal citations.

                    1:30 p.m.      Jn. 3:17      Florida Code 3:350-378

A colon is used for ratios.

    2:1

AP Style, however, uses hyphens: 2-to-1.

A colon can be used for a direct address. A colon is considered more formal than a comma.

    Dear John, 

    Dear John:  

Colons can be used in dialogues.
Bob: What are you talking about?
Dave: I’m not sure!

Q: What color do you see?
A: I see blue.

Semicolons

Semicolons join two independent clauses (sentences) without a conjunction. The semicolon indicates a close relationship between two sentences (consider the closeness as somewhere between a complete stop—period—and a slight pause—comma).
    Barbara is a talented artist; she paints in bright colors.

    Donavan dislikes peanuts; cashews are Donavan's least favorite peanuts.

Semicolons join two clauses with transitional adverbs such as however and therefore. A comma follows the transitional adverb.

   The Boston Bruins always win their home openers; however, this year they are going to lose.

Expressions such as that is, namely, and for example can be preceded by a semicolon if they connect closely related clauses.

    Elena is a grammarian; that is, she enjoys writing about grammar.

Semicolons separate items in a series or list, particularly if one of the clauses has an internal comma or extensive punctuation.

I have lived in Miami, Florida; Manhattan, New York; and Chicago, Illinois.
My wife lifts weight, does yoga, and jogs in the park; with all her efforts, she is extremely fit.

Commas

Majority of Stylebooks

Commas are used to separate items in a series or list. 

Most stylebooks use the serial comma or the Oxford comma—the placement of a comma before a conjunction like “and."
    David is a poet, a writer, and a scholar.

     Lincoln said that we had a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

     In the '60s, hair was long, music was mellow, and life was simple.

In AP style, the serial comma or Oxford comma is rarely used (see #1). Exceptions: If a concluding conjunction includes a conjunction, a serial comma or Oxford comma is used (see #2). If there is the possibility of confusion, a comma is used (see #3). If there is a complex series of phrases, use of a comma is suggested (see 4).

1. David is a poet, a writer and a scholar.
2. David enjoys eating broccoli, bacon, and ham and eggs.
3. The team consulted the staff, coach Bob Geary, and psychologist Barbara Volk.
4. George Washington commanded to victory and independence the Continental Army during the American Revolution, presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution, and was elected unanimously by the Electoral College the first president of the United States.

Commas set off nonrestrictive clauses—nonessential added information-- introduced by which, that, or who (whom, whose):
                    Jennifer’s book, which was left in the cafeteria, was found on Monday.

Commas set off nonrestrictive appositives—nonessential added information that restates that which precedes it.
                    Bob’s brother, David, is an intelligent person.

                    The automobile, a Chrysler, crashed into the pole.

Commas set off parenthetical aides—material not directly related to the main idea.
                    The players wore the new uniforms, regrettably, to the game.

Commas connect two independent clauses—two sentences--joined by a conjunction.
             The parents brought their children to school, and they introduced their children to the teachers.

Commas are used after a dependent clause (which does not express a complete thought) that precedes an independent clause (a sentence, a complete thought).  Such dependent clauses usually begin with subordinating conjunctions such as After, Although, As, As if, Because, Before, Even though, If, Since, So That, Though, Unless, Until, When, Whether, While....
                    If he had known the outcome of the game, he would have played differently.
                                    Dependent Clause                                  Independent Clause
A comma can be omitted for stylistic purposes with short dependent clauses (introductory phrases).

                On Monday, I will go to work.

                On Monday I will go to work.

Commas separate coordinate adjectives—words that apply to and describe some attribute of the same subject.
                    It was a cold, frosty winter.

Coordinate adjectives can be identified by the use of the word and between them: It was a cold and frosty winter. Also, coordinate adjectives can be moved around in a sentence without distorting the meaning of the sentence: It was a frosty, cold winter.

Commas separate multiple adverbs.

    David energetically, thoroughly, and happily listened to the controversial speaker.

Commas can be used after introductory adverbs. 

Frankly, he is an idiot!

Participles and participle phrases usually require a comma.

Fuming, she addressed his remark.

Fuming and seething, she addressed his remark.

    

Commas separate adjectives or adverbs that are repeated for emphasis.

                    It was a very, very frosty winter.

Do not use commas with sentences that have (1) a single subject shared by two verbs, and (2) a single verb shared by two objects.

(1) He ate his hamburger and drank his drink.

(2) He prepared food and clothing for the trip.

Commas often set off terms like for example, for instance, as a result, in spite of, indeed, etc.

                As a result of her study habits, Barbara became the class valedictorian. 

Commas introduce quotations. A colon can also be used.

                    Josie said, “Don’t take my hat!”
                    Josie said: “Don’t take my hat!”

If the quote is integrated into the sentence, a comma is not used.

"Don't take my hat" is what Josie said.

Lincoln said that he wanted a "government for the people."

Commas are used to indicate "direct address."

        Hello, friend.   Hey, Joe.    Dude, back off.    

Words such as Yes, No, Oh, Ah, Well can be set off with commas (Yes and No in AP Style are usually set off with commas).

                Yes, I'll go to the park with you.

                No, I didn't vote.

Commas are used with dates, addresses and place names.
                    Miami, Florida, is a beautiful place to visit.
                    March 19, 1964, was the year I was born.

                    March 1964 was a good year for me (no comma is used when cited in this manner).

Commas are used for academic credentials that follow a name.

John Wesley, PhD, gave an address to the students (CMOS).

John Wesley, Ph.D., gave an address to the students (AP Style).

For junior and senior within a sentence, the following apply. 

            Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke (CMOS).

            Martin Luther King Jr. spoke (AP Style).

Do not use a comma before or after II, III, etc.

    Pope John XXIII spoke to the crowd.

A school with an internal comma is usually followed by a comma.

    The University of California, Los Angeles, is in the village of Westwood.

    

In AP Style, do not use a comma if an adjective is integral to a noun phrase.

                    NO: expensive, suede, shirt
                    YES: expensive suede shirt

In AP Style, do not use a comma before Inc. or Ltd.
                    No: Delta, Inc.
                    YES: Delta Inc.

Titles of Works and Capitalization

Most stylebooks do not capitalize the following in a title:

Articles
(unless the article is the first word)
a, an, the

Coordinate Conjunctions

(unless the conjunction is the first word)
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Prepositions
(unless used as adverbs or adjectives)
as, at, around, by, after, along, for, from, of, on, to, with, without

When a periodical's name is used in a sentence, the article the is not capitalized--even if it is part of the official publication's name.
NO: People read The New York Times.
YES: People read the New York Times.


Capitalize the first part and the second part of a hyphenated compound in a title, unless the first part is a prefix or a word that cannot stand alone.
        Headline-Style         Anti-religious         Non-discrimination

AP Style

For words less than three letters, do not capitalize.
For (capitalize), to (do not), From (capitalize), by (do not), etc.

APA Style capitalizes major words only.

Quotation marks are used for most titles of books, plays, poems, operas, songs, albums, speeches, etc. Other styles prefer the use of italics. In MLA Style and Chicago Style, they are italicized.

Numbers

Majority of Stylebooks

Spelled Out
All numbers that begin a sentence are spelled out.
                    Three hundred and fifteen people live in that small town.

Numbers zero to one hundred should be spelled out.
                    fifty-five people

Numbers followed by hundred, thousand, hundred thousand, million, billion, trillion, etc. should be spelled out.
                    three thousand years

Simple fractions are spelled out; complex fractions use numerals.
                    two-thirds      1 ½      3.7


Numerals
Numerals are used for numbers greater than one hundred and for complex large numbers.
                    101      1,535,000

Plurals for numerals are made by adding s.
                    1960s      60s

Numerals are used for years, except at the beginning of a sentence.
                    1964      2021

Numerals are used for page, chapter, volume, or part numbers.
                    page 5      chapter 3      volume 12      part 3

Numerals precede percent or %.
                    7 percent     8 %

Use numerals for tables, columns, charts….

Numerals are used for sports scores and court decisions.
                    8-3-win      5-4 decision

Maintain consistency within categories within a section of text. If one person, place, or thing requires a numeral, all require a numeral.
                    The zoo has 1000 birds, 75 monkeys, 5 rhinos, and 3 zebras.
                                        (category of animals)

Scientific and Technical Works

Single-digit numbers are spelled out (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine), and all other numbers are written as numerals (10, 11, etc.).

Numerals precede units, such as meters, feet, square inches, etc.
                    3 meters      8 feet      3 square-feet

AP Style

Single-digit numbers are spelled out (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine) and all other numbers are written as numerals (10, 11, etc.), except for large numbers (2 million people).

Numerals precede units, such as meters, feet, square inches, etc.
                    3 meters      8 feet      3 square-feet

Numerals are used for ages.
                    3 years old

Numerals are used for monetary amounts.
                    3 cents    $5 million

MLA Style

Numbers that cannot be written out in one or two words should be written in numerals.
                Nineteen hundred              1937              648

Hyphenate compounds numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine.