Dashes can be used to set off material in the midst of a sentence. However, one should try to avoid using them at all. When choosing between dashes and other forms of punctuation (such as commas and parentheses), dashes should be used sparingly and primarily when the material deserves special emphasis. By contract, parenthetical ideas may be lost. In typing or word processing, a dash is formed by placing one space before and one space after two consecutive hyphens.
破折號使用在詞與詞中間用以隔開句子成分。然而，我們應(yīng)盡量避免使用破折號。當(dāng)在句中需要強調(diào)某成分時，在破折號與其他標(biāo)點符號（如逗號，括號）之間我們應(yīng)優(yōu)先并謹(jǐn)慎使用破折號。如省略破折號則可能導(dǎo)致插入部分的語意丟失。在打印或用WORD進行文字系統(tǒng)操作時，應(yīng)連續(xù)打印兩個連接符并在其前后分別空一格。
Incorrect錯誤使用: The judge knew the defendant——she had been his third wife——and he therefore recused himself.
Correct正確使用: The judge knew the defendant —— she had been his third wife —— and he therefore recused himself.
破折號使用在詞與詞中間用以隔開句子成分。然而，我們應(yīng)盡量避免使用破折號。當(dāng)在句中需要強調(diào)某成分時，在破折號與其他標(biāo)點符號（如逗號，括號）之間我們應(yīng)優(yōu)先并謹(jǐn)慎使用破折號。如省略破折號則可能導(dǎo)致插入部分的語意丟失。在打印或用WORD進行文字系統(tǒng)操作時，應(yīng)連續(xù)打印兩個連接符并在其前后分別空一格。
Incorrect錯誤使用: The judge knew the defendant——she had been his third wife——and he therefore recused himself.
Correct正確使用: The judge knew the defendant —— she had been his third wife —— and he therefore recused himself.