0

What is the best way to punctuate interrupted dialogue? I have seen it done like this, but I am not sure if it is correct.

"In my opinion the best w--"

"Nobody is interested in your opinion," Fred cut in.

I think that this is called an em dash and that some softwares will put the two hyphens together to make a single, long em dash.

If this is the proper way to signify interrupted speech, is it OK if the software does not join the hyphens into a single em dash. Are two hyphens OK?

Laurel
  • 66,382
PaulP51D
  • 545
  • 1
    Sure, you do the best you can. If you can find the em dash anywhere, copy & paste it in. If you use MS Word, I can share other tricks. – Yosef Baskin Jul 25 '17 at 22:31
  • software never takes an s. – Lambie Jul 25 '17 at 22:47
  • In MS Word, type four characters: p - - p. When you type a space next, Word turns the hyphens into one em dash. Backspace twice to remove 'p space'. I use the letter 'p' only for its nearness to the Backspace key that I'll need. – Yosef Baskin Jul 25 '17 at 22:52
  • 1
    Please stop worrying - stop even thinking about which dash to use where. Any such question is always and exclusively a matter of style.

    If you're writing for a given journal, ask your editor for the house style.

    If not, use whatever suits you best but please, don't think there's any proper or best or preferred style…

     – Robbie Goodwin Jul 27 '17 at 00:54

0 Answers0