120 English Grammar Demystifi ed
Use an apostrophe to indicate the plural of letters in order to avoid confusion.
A’s , B’s , I’s , L’s , v’s , c’s , W’s , Z’sWritten Practice 5-11
In each of the following sentences, insert or delete apostrophes where necessary.
- Our homes front yard needs new plantings.
- Deb wasnt expected for hours.
- The dog vigorously shook it’s wet coat when it went for its walk.
- Did anyone ever instruct you to dot your i s and cross your t s?
- Its a long journey, isnt it?
Dash and Hyphen
Take a look at the small, but important, differences in length between a hyphen,
en-dash, and em-dash. Hyphens and dashes look slightly different, and, in fact, they
are used for different purposes:
hyphen - en dash – (the width of a capital n) em dash — (the width of a capital m)
EM DASH
Use em dashes—one on each side of the interrupting thought—to emphasize an
interruption within a sentence. Remember this one caution: Don’t overuse them.
Here’s an example:
Call me if you’re going to be late—even 15 minutes—or I will worry about
you.The preceding sentence shows an example of an em dash. As you saw, the em dash
signaled an abrupt, emphatic break in the sentence. If your word processor lacks
this character, just type two hyphens, with no space on either side.
The em dash can also be used to amplify a thought or indicate a sudden break: