On Thu, 7 Jun 2001 16:32:58 -0400 John Cowan <jcowan@...>
writes:
> Robert Hailman wrote:
> > I tend not to use parentheses, but sometimes I do. I do use
> hyphens a
> > lot, where parentheses or commas would be expected - "So I was
> talking
> > to Fred the other day - you met him at that party a week ago - and
> he
> > said..." but more formal than that.
> Perfectly fine, but use them two at a time to form a dash.
> You can make up your own mind about whether to use spaces around the
> dash or not.
> > I've never seen a style guide
> > address that use, even to warn against it, and I've never been
> told
> > using them was bad style.
> Dashes should be used in pairs -- this is the way you do it -- to
> emphasize the part being set off. An unpaired dash indicates a
> radical
> change of direction for the sentence -- like this.
> "Dashes emphasize, parentheses reduce, commas merely enclose."
> --
> There is / one art || John Cowan
> <jcowan@...>
-
I also like using dashes. Although i did have one teacher who tried to
dissuade me from using them, so since then i try to use more variety in
my punctuation, sometimes even using semicolons. I have a friend who's
an English major who (over)uses semicolons all over the place the way we
use dashes.
-Stephen (Steg)
"Word making is world making."
~ _The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis_
by Avivah Zornberg