The Grammar of English Grammars · Chapter 352Rule III.—Faulty Dashes
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Dashes needlessly inserted, or substituted for other stops more definite, are in general to be treated as errors in punctuation; as, "Here Greece stands by itself as opposed to the other nations of antiquity—She was none of the other nations—She was more polished than they."—Lennie's Gram., p. 78. "Here Greece stands by herself, as opposed to the other nations of antiquity. She was none of the other nations: She was more polished than they."—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 114. If this colon is sufficient, the capital after it is needless: a period would, perhaps, be better.
OBS. 1.—The dash does not appear to be always a rhetorical stop, or always intended to lengthen the pause signified by an other mark before it. As one instance of a different design, we may notice, that it is now very often employed between a text and a reference;—i.e., between a quotation and the name of the author of the book quoted;—in which case, as Wm. Day suggests, "it serves as a connecting mark for the two."—Day's Punctuation, p. 131. But this usage, being comparatively recent, is, perhaps, not so general or so necessary, that a neglect of it may properly be censured as false punctuation.
OBS. 2.—An other peculiar use of the dash, is its application to side-titles, to set them off from other words in the same line, as is seen often in this Grammar as well as in other works. Day says of this, "When the substance of a paragraph is given as a side-head, a dash is necessary to connect it with its relative matter."—Ibid. Wilson also approves of this usage, as well as of the others here named; saying, "The dash should be inserted between a title and the subject-matter, and also between the subject-matter, and the authority from which it is taken, when they occur in the same paragraph."—Wilson's Punctuation, Ed. of 1850, p. 139.
OBS. 3.—The dash is often used to signify the omission of something; and, when set between the two extremes of a series of numbers, it may represent all the intermediate ones; as, "Page 10-15;" i. e., "Page 10, 11, 12, &c. to 15."—"Matt, vi, 9-14."
"And there is something in your very strange story, that resembles … Does Mr. Bevil know your history particularly?"—See Key.
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the abrupt pause after resembles is here marked by three periods. But, according to Rule 1st for the Dash. "A sudden interruption, break, or transition, should be marked with the dash." Therefore, the dash should be preferred to these points.]
"Sir, Mr. Myrtle, Gentlemen! You are friends; I am but a servant. But."—See Key.
"Another man now would have given plump into this foolish story; but I? No, no, your humble servant for that."—See Key.
"Do not plunge thyself too far in anger lest thou hasten thy trial; which if Lord have mercy on thee for a hen!"—See Key.
"But ere they came, O, let me say no more! Gather the sequel by that went before."—See Key.
"M, Malvolio; M, why, that begins my name."
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the pauses after M and Malvolio seem not to be sufficiently indicated here. But, according to Rule 2d for the Dash, "To mark a considerable pause, greater than the structure of the sentence or the points inserted would seem to require, the dash may be employed." Therefore, a dash may be set after the commas and the semicolon, in this sentence.]
"Thus, by the creative influence of the Eternal Spirit, were the heavens and the earth finished in the space of six days, so admirably finished, an unformed chaos changed into a system of perfect order and beauty, that the adorable Architect himself pronounced it very good, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."—See Key.
"If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop remained in my country, I NEVER would lay down my arms; NEVER, NEVER, NEVER."—Columbian Orator, p. 265.
"Madam, yourself are not exempt in this, Nor your son Dorset, Buckingham, nor you."—See Key.
"—You shall go home directly, Le Fevre, said my uncle Toby, to my house,—and we'll send for a doctor to see what's the matter,—and we'll have an apothecary,—and the corporal shall be your nurse;—and I'll be your servant, Le Fevre."—STERNE: Enfield's Speaker, p. 306.
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because all the dashes here quoted, except perhaps the last, are useless, or obviously substituted for more definite marks. But, according to Rule 3d, "Dashes needlessly inserted, or substituted for other stops more definite, are in general to be treated as errors in punctuation." Therefore, the first of these should be simply expunged; the second, third, and fourth, with their commas, should be changed to semicolons; and the last, with its semicolon, may well be made a colon.]
"He continued—Inferior artists may be at a stand, because they want materials."—HARRIS: Enfield's Speaker, p. 191. "Thus, then, continued he—The end in other arts is ever distant and removed."—Id., ib.
"The nouns must be coupled with and, and when a pronoun is used it must be plural, as in the example—When the nouns are disjoined the pronoun must be singular."—Lennie's Gram., 5th Ed., p. 57.
"Opinion is a noun or substantive common,—of the singular number,—neuter gender,—nominative case,—and third person."—Wright's Philos. Gram., p. 228.
"The mountain—thy pall and thy prison—may keep thee; I shall see thee no more; but till death I will weep thee." —Felton's Gram., p. 146.
"If to accommodate man and beast, heaven and earth; if this be beyond me, 'tis not possible.—What consequence then follows? or can there be any other than this—if I seek an interest of my own, detached from that of others; I seek an interest which is chimerical, and can never have existence."—HARRIS: Enfield's Speaker, p. 139.
"Again—I must have food and clothing—Without a proper genial warmth, I instantly perish—Am I not related, in this view, to the very earth itself? To the distant sun, from whose beams I derive vigour?"—Id., ib., p. 140.
"Nature instantly ebb'd again—the film returned to its place—the pulse flutter'd—stopp'd—went on—throbb'd—stopp'd again—mov'd—stopp'd—shall I go on?—No."—STERNE: ib., p. 307.
"Write ten nouns of the masculine gender. Ten of the feminine. Ten of the neuter. Ten indefinite in gender."—Pardon Davis's Gram., p. 9.
"The Infinitive Mode has two tenses—the Indicative, six—the Potential, two—the Subjunctive, six, and the Imperative, one."—Frazee's Gram., Ster. Ed., p. 39; 1st Ed., 37. "Now notice the following sentences. John runs,—boys run—thou runnest."—Ib., Ster. Ed., p. 50; 1st Ed., p. 48.
"The Pronoun sometimes stands for a name—sometimes for an adjective—a sentence—a part of a sentence—and, sometimes for a whole series of propositions."—O. B. Peirce's Gram., 1st Ed., 12mo, p. 321.
"The self-applauding bird, the peacock, see— Mark what a sumptuous pharisee is he!"—Cowper, i, 49.