You know, use of long dash is the same kind of tell as an image having 6 fingers. Not impossible to find in human interactions but generally very rare, especially in online conversation. (I’m not even sure if my phone can do a long dash, just these fellows: —).
I use the em-dash a lot. It’s not just about the presence of one, the issue is that LLMs know they exist but don’t know where they go. It’s sort of like a semicolon, which goes where neither a comma nor a period feel right. An em-dashes simply goes where neither comma nor period nor semicolon feels right
Edit: I should clarify, that’s simply how I use them. I’m not smart enough with words to know stuff like “parenthetical clauses” or w/e. Point being, AI just throws them in like they’re sentence enhancers
On my keyboard, I just click the button on the bottom left to see punctuation, and then long-press the hyphen
Single em dashes can almost always be used interchangeably with semicolons—they typically separate independent clauses without a conjunction.
Paired em dashes—used to demarcate parenthetical expressions—can be replaced by commas, but not by semicolons.
It has less to do with what feels right and more to do with the mechanics of the sentence. There is a good bit of wiggle room, figuratively speaking, in deciding whether to use commas or paired em dashes—likewise, whether to use a single em dash or a semicolon is almost entirely a stylistic choice. But I feel like the way you explained it is a bit misleading to people still learning the difference.
An em dash can also be used to delineate an abrupt break in the direction or structure of a sentence or dialogue in a way that commas or semicolons simply—fuck, I just shit my pants.
Not trying to be a pedant, just sharing what I’ve learned over the years.
You know, use of long dash is the same kind of tell as an image having 6 fingers. Not impossible to find in human interactions but generally very rare, especially in online conversation. (I’m not even sure if my phone can do a long dash, just these fellows: —).
I use the em-dash a lot. It’s not just about the presence of one, the issue is that LLMs know they exist but don’t know where they go. It’s sort of like a semicolon, which goes where neither a comma nor a period feel right. An em-dashes simply goes where neither comma nor period nor semicolon feels right
Edit: I should clarify, that’s simply how I use them. I’m not smart enough with words to know stuff like “parenthetical clauses” or w/e. Point being, AI just throws them in like they’re sentence enhancers
On my keyboard, I just click the button on the bottom left to see punctuation, and then long-press the hyphen
Single em dashes can almost always be used interchangeably with semicolons—they typically separate independent clauses without a conjunction.
Paired em dashes—used to demarcate parenthetical expressions—can be replaced by commas, but not by semicolons.
It has less to do with what feels right and more to do with the mechanics of the sentence. There is a good bit of wiggle room, figuratively speaking, in deciding whether to use commas or paired em dashes—likewise, whether to use a single em dash or a semicolon is almost entirely a stylistic choice. But I feel like the way you explained it is a bit misleading to people still learning the difference.
An em dash can also be used to delineate an abrupt break in the direction or structure of a sentence or dialogue in a way that commas or semicolons simply—fuck, I just shit my pants.
Not trying to be a pedant, just sharing what I’ve learned over the years.
Emdashes might also be a sign that the commenter is a nerd
Yeah, or just someone that has read books before…
same thing, nerd