# Dashes Em dashes (—) can, when appropriate, be used in place of commas to enhance readability. Note, however, that dashes are always more emphatic than commas. Don’t use em dashes where no punctuation, commas, or (occasionally) a semi-colon would do. An en dash (–) is used to indicate continuing numbers, such as 1968–72, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., pp. 38–45, John 4:3–6:2. En dash is also used in place of a hyphen in a compound adjective if one element consists of two or more words or of a hyphenated word: post–Cold War On the web/in Google Docs, no spaces should be placed around dashes. In print layout, there is a hairline space around both em and en dashes. Most prefixes (co, re, pre, multi, anti, etc.) do not require hyphens (-). Check our glossary in this guide or the Merriam Webster dictionary for exceptions (notably, “anti-capitalism” and “anti-colonial”) or if you aren’t certain. Compounds: see Chicago Manual tables for guidance or check M-W. If the word is not listed in either place, follow construction of a similar word (ex.: chairperson follows the example of layperson). {% file src="/files/-MOUcFenxmSCLSBH5Bb1" %} Hyphenation how-to {% endfile %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://sftpmag.gitbook.io/sftp-publishing/style-guide/dashes.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.