Dashes

1. Use dashes to indicate an abrupt shift in the thought of a sentence or to set off an informal parenthetical element.
   • Harvey decided to go to--but you wouldn't be interested.
   • Cecil told me--can you believe it?--that he preferred the leading brand.
   • At the age of three--ah, to be three again--Sammy could wiggle his ears.
   
   
2. Use dashes to set off an appositive or parenthetical element which is internally punctuated.
   • His friends--Kermit, Buzz, and Bruce--are spending the day here.
   
   
3. Use dashes to set off a loosely connected sentence element when you want to emphasize the element set off.
   • Citizens want information--not a sales job--about the hazards of dredging the bay.