Dashes v. Commas - when to use, when to use!

[Jordygirl]

To be totally honest, dashes and commas confuse me. Take this sentance for instance.

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Disgusted.
Should it be like that, with the commas?

Terri - the legendary small town model - sneered at her. Disgusted.
Or like that, with dashes?

How do I use commas and dashes when it comes to breaking a part of the sentence off from the actual sentence is my question. Am I am idiot for not knowing?

[ErylRavenwell]

If "the legendary small town model" is an important piece of information, you emphasize it by using the dashes (-- or —). If not (a piece of information you can do without), use the comma. Anyway, when in doubt, always use the comma.

Here is another use of the em dash—to add a sentence fragment at the end of an otherwise complete sentence.

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her—feeling disgusted.

[maestrowork]

Comma. It's an independent but relevant clause (or whatever they call that).

Dashes should only be used for "asides" in this manner:

Terri -- she's really quite a small town model -- sneered at her.


Also, Eryl, I have to disagree with your usage. I think it's perfectly fine to have a sentence fragment on its own:

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Disgusted.

A dash at the end like that just feels clumsy to me, plus feeling disgusted isn't really a fragment.

[Jamesaritchie]

To be totally honest, dashes and commas confuse me. Take this sentance for instance.

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Disgusted.
Should it be like that, with the commas?

Terri - the legendary small town model - sneered at her. Disgusted.
Or like that, with dashes?

How do I use commas and dashes when it comes to breaking a part of the sentence off from the actual sentence is my question. Am I am idiot for not knowing?

Disgusted should be part of the sentence. You make it a fragment, and one that doesn't work.

Commas work best in this sentence, but you need another comma after "her," not a period.

[ErylRavenwell]

Comma. It's an independent but relevant clause (or whatever they call that).

Dashes should only be used for "asides" in this manner:

Terri -- she's really quite a small town model -- sneered at her.


Also, Eryl, I have to disagree with your usage. I think it's perfectly fine to have a sentence fragment on its own:

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Disgusted.


A dash at the end like that just feels clumsy to me, plus feeling disgusted isn't really a fragment.

I wasn't arguing about whether "disgusted" should be on its own. I do it often myself. The example I provided is the only example I could find where the dash usage differs markedly from the comma's ,i.e, to add a loose bit of random information at the end of an otherwise complete sentence (that's why it feels clumsy by the way :)). Otherwise, the dash is simply a comma that is used to emphasize.

Why did you say "feeling disgusted" is not a sentence fragment?

And both the examples above are technically correct, but the tones are different. Slightly.



Last another important function of the dash (as a super-comma to avoid confusion with other commas.)

Three of the soldiers—a sergeant, a corporal, and a colonel—were killed in the attack.

[Popeyesays]

Punctuation simulates speech. I regard a comma as a slight pause for breath, and a dash as a more significant pause for consideration.

Regards,
Scott

[Jamesaritchie]

Comma. It's an independent but relevant clause (or whatever they call that).

Dashes should only be used for "asides" in this manner:

Terri -- she's really quite a small town model -- sneered at her.


Also, Eryl, I have to disagree with your usage. I think it's perfectly fine to have a sentence fragment on its own:

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Disgusted.

A dash at the end like that just feels clumsy to me, plus feeling disgusted isn't really a fragment.

It depends on the fragment. In this case, a sentence fragment such as "disgusted," does not stand alone. In this case, it doesn't even make sense. Sentence fragments are often fine, but this one simply doesn't fit, and would give any editor fits.

You can't simply pick any word, call it a fragment, and let it stand. There are rules, even for sentence fragments.

[Anne Lyle]

You can have:

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her, disgusted.

(although "disgusted" is a bit redundant).

Or you could have something like:

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Openly.

(using the period for emphasis)

or

Terri, the legendary small town model, sneered at her. Typical.

where the sentence fragment is internal speech from the PoV character. JAR is right that the original sentence fragment doesn't work. Don't ask me to explain the technicalities - I just instinctively know...

[Silver-tongued Devil]

Commas are used to set off parenthetical phrases, among other things. Your example is of that so commas are perfect. The long dash is best used sparingly if at all to indicate an interruption.

He was filling out the deposit slip when – "Everyone drop to the floor!" – in burst the bank robber.

[Silver-tongued Devil]

An afterthought: If "Disgusted.", "Openly." or any other adjective alone is not a fragment then perhaps it is less than a fragment. We need not concern ourselves with proper grammar, syntax or any of that sort of thing if we choose to make stream of consciousness our goal. Once we set off on that course, no error exists.

We have three possible concerns when addressing this "Grammar for Grasshoppers" section:
1. Do the readers of this forum like what I want to do?
2. Is it correct based on traditional rules of grammar?
3. Will an editor strike it out?

It is possible to get any combination of "yes" and "no" for these three concerns.