Lesson on Dashes Hyphens and Ellipses

What is used to show a sudden break in a sentence, to emphasize a word or clause, and to show that someone's speech is being interrupted?

• hyphen

• dash

• quotation mark

• a breath

How should the below sentence be punctuated?

Harvard one of the most selective schools in the nation is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• Harvard—one of the most selective schools in the nation is located—in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• Harvard one of the most selective schools in the nation is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• Harvard—one of the most selective schools in the nation—is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• Harvard, one of the most selective schools in the nation—is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

How would you change the red portion of the sentence?

The school trip, which is scheduled for September 12th—will involve stopping for lunch at an authentic Himalayan restaurant.

• Keep AS IS

• school trip which is scheduled

• school trip—which is scheduled

• school trip-which is scheduled

Which of the following sentences correctly indicates a pause in the sentence?

• "I really think I belong there...where the wild things are."

• "I really think I belong there—where the wild things are."

• "I really think I belong there-where the wilder things are."

• "I really think I belong there (where the wild things are)."

In the following sentence, where does a hyphen need added: Yesterday, my cousin turned twenty five.

• Yester-day

• my-cousin

• twenty-five

• turn-ed

What type of punctuation is used to join two words into one, clarify words, and divide words at the end of a line?

• dash

• comma

• ellipses

• hyphen

Insert a hyphen in the following sentence: The heart pounding ending left me breathless.

• The heart-pounding ending left me breathless.

• The heart pounding-ending left me breathless.

• The heart-pounding-ending left me breathless.

• The heart pounding ending left me breath-less.

Which sentence is correct?

• The 1998 Yankees had one aim and one aim only winning.

• the 1998 Yankees had one aim and one aim only...winning

• the 1998 yankees had one aim and one aim only - winning.

• The 1998 Yankees had one aim and one aim only—winning.

A reviewer wrote that the musical was "dazzling, colorful, beautifully performed, and had many outstanding special effects."
Which of the following shows how the author could correctly use an ELLIPSIS to shorten the quote?

• A critic wrote that the musical was "dazzling, colorful, and beautifully performed. . . ."
• A critic wrote that the musical was "dazzling, colorful, . . . and beautifully performed."
• A  critic wrote that the musical was "dazzling, colorful, and beautifully . . . performed."
• A critic wrote that . . . the musical was "dazzling, colorful, and beautifully performed."

In the following sentence, what do the ellipses indicate?

"These emotions can transform,... and consequently they have been understood as keys to the dynamics of emotional illness."

• a question

• an unfinished thought

• omitted text from a quotation

• a pause in speech