# Dashes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2000, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashes/45832 "2000-12-16T01:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2000, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashes/45832/1 "2000-12-16T01:11:25Z")
Over in the pit, I said something to the effect of “yadda — yadda” using an em-dash and spaces in between it and the words it was separated. **waterj2** came along and suggested that perhaps one doesn’t do that. My copy of the Hacker’s guide was recently stolen, so I can’t look in there. I must therefore turn to you, O Teeming Millions, to settle this. Does anything go between a word and its em-dash? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2000, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashes/45832/2 "2000-12-16T01:29:03Z")
The rules of typography dictate there should be no space. I never put them in. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2000, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashes/45832/3 "2000-12-16T01:31:21Z")
This is English, there are no simple rules. Here’s what I could come up with… > [@](#): > > •EM DASH (—): Use to indicate a sudden break to inject explanatory or qualifying material into a sentence. **Do not insert spaces before and after the dash** : The people–the ones who were the most interested–made a special effort to attend the meeting. > > •2-EM DASH (——): Use to indicate missing letters. **Do not place a space between the existing part of the word and the dash, but do add a space where the dash represents the end of the word** : I read the s—— section of the newspaper. > > •3-EM DASH (———) Use to indicate a missing word or words to be supplied. **Add a space before and after the dash** : The express truck was bound for ——— and would arrive late. from [http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=7713](http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=7713) Except for the weirdo cases, there are no spaces around the em-dash. I’m sure someone will have a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style to give an air of “officialness” to this. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2000, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashes/45832/4 "2000-12-16T01:36:22Z")
Allow me to expand on that a bit. I shouldn’t have been so absolute. The rules seem to vary a bit from publisher to publisher. If you are setting type in a professional program, you might add a small space there. However, I think that a full spaceband is too much. In most places (outside of publishing software, that is), you are unfortunately limited to either full spaces or none. My personal taste says it looks fine without any space at all. Most fonts are designed with some space built into the ends of the dashes, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2000, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashes/45832/5 "2000-12-16T01:41:06Z")
I’m afraid you’ve posted this in the wrong forum – you may think that the questions of spaces before and after the dash is a General Question, but in fact it is a Great Debate. I’ve had many a long, heated discussion over this very subject. The battle over spacing of the dash is really just a skrimish between the two primary opposing forces in grammar and usage – rectitude and readibility. The gramatical purists – those who will not be seen to ever split their infinitives – insist that the words around the dash should be pressed close around the punctuation. They are, of course, correct according the traditional rules of grammar. Those who are more free in their usage – the coloquialists among us – contend that, whatever the traditional rules say, in typed text (including computer printed and displayed text) failing to include spaces before and after the dash makes the text much more difficult to read, and generally confuses the reader. It dilutes the effectiveness of this important punctuation mark – the space inserters say – to omit the clarity enhancing spacess around the dash. As for me – you can guess the side of the debate on which I fall.