Test yourself

Find the sentences in which hyphens, em (long) dashes and en (short) dashes have all been used correctly.

1. Where will you park your 1962 Lincoln—in an airplane hangar?
   

   Answer 1:

   a. correct b. incorrect
2. The banquet–arranged, incidentally, by the city’s top event planner–would have been more enjoyable without the messy watermelon eating teens at the head table.
   

   Answer 2:

   a. correct b. incorrect
3. The contract specifies that you are to edit only the three finance-related chapters (Chapters 10–12 inclusive).
   

   Answer 3:

   a. correct b. incorrect
4. Naturally caffeine free, this blackcurrant tisane makes a refreshing alternative to regular tea or coffee.
   

   Answer 4:

   a. correct b. incorrect
5. He planted a variety of brightly coloured shade-tolerant flowers—impatiens, wax begonias, violets and pansies—at the corner of the house.
   

   Answer 5:

   a. correct b. incorrect
6. Milena is conducting an in depth study of the post Gulf War usage of the expression “shock and awe.”
   

   Answer 6:

   a. correct b. incorrect