Once upon a time in a land not-so far away, the internet decided that AI invented dashes.
It’s become something of an online sport: finding tiny writing quirks and declaring them undeniable proof that ChatGPT was involved. But is the humble dash really an AI giveaway? Or is it simply one of the most misunderstood pieces of punctuation in the English language?
Let’s settle the debate – and clear up what each dash actually does while we’re at it.
The confusion between em dashes, en dashes and hyphens
Most people just lump all these little horizontal lines together. And fair enough.
At a glance, they all look like tiny black lines. Most keyboards only give you one of them without you needing to dig through shortcuts, and plenty of software swaps one for another right under your nose.
Throw in the fact that style guides don’t always agree on which one should do what, and it’s no wonder they’re constantly being mixed up. But just like siblings, they may look alike, yet each has their own personality and responsibilities.
Let’s meet the family.
Meet the hyphen: The youngest
Hi! I’m the hyphen, I look like this: – .
I’m the smallest in the dash family, and I probably work the hardest. You can tell that to Em and En, too. My main job is to join words together to make it clear that they belong as a single idea. Some of my most consistent clients include:
- High-quality content
- Well-known brands
- Long-term strategies
- Decision-makers
And not to be too self-important, but I really am a lifesaver. Imagine you saw a sign reading:
Beware! Man eating tiger ahead!
You’d likely get in touch with an animal conservationist and feel a deep sense of ire for this man whose diet includes big cats. But if that sign was warning you against a man-eating tiger, you’d be lunch before the call to PETA even connects.
Meet the en-dash: The middle child
I’m the en dash, I look like this: – if you even care.
Most people have never knowingly typed me. I just show up sometimes via autocorrect, and people let me stay without knowing what I’m actually doing. But I’m usually there to show a range or relationship between two things.
I’m often around phrases like:
- 2022–2026
- Melbourne–Sydney flight
- Pages 12–18
But, sometimes, I’m also used in place of my cousin, the comma, to give a sentence a more dramatic pause. For example:
The meeting was going smoothly – until someone called the en dash a hyphen.
In conclusion, I have many layers and can suit many moods. But, if you must put me in a box, think of me as a stand-in for the words ‘to’ or ‘between’. I also respond to ‘more energetic comma’ as a fun nickname.
Meet the em-dash: The eldest
I’m the em dash. I look like this: — . And, yes, I’m the one currently being dragged by the internet as Exhibit A in the case against AI.
But I’ve had a long and distinguished career, thank you very much.
For decades, I’ve stepped in whenever a sentence needed a little more theatre than a comma could offer. I’ve also happily filled in for parentheses when they started feeling a bit too formal. Like this:
ChatGPT—which I admit is in love with me—didn’t invent me.
I’ve even had the occasional cameo playing detective. Pair two of us together (——) and we can show that someone was interrupted mid-sentence or that a name has been deliberately left out.
Nowadays, though, I’ve started easing into retirement.
My sibling, the en dash, has been taking on a few of my old responsibilities in certain style guides and brand voice manuals.
And do I mind? Not at all.
I’ve earned a quieter life. I’ll still happily dust off the tuxedo and make an appearance when the occasion calls for it. I just don’t feel the need to show up three times in every paragraph anymore.
Are dashes a telltale sign of AI use?
The short answer is no, although we do understand why people might see it that way.
Large language models were trained on millions of books, articles, journals and professionally edited publications. Those sources often use dashes. And a lot of them – because they work.
So, as more people began using AI to write LinkedIn posts, newsletters, blogs and webpages, readers started noticing the same punctuation appearing more frequently. Somewhere along the way, the dash itself became a suspect.
But correlation isn’t causation.
Professional writers, journalists, editors and publishers were using dashes long before generative AI arrived. If anything, AI simply reminded everyone they existed.
Should I stop using dashes?
Definitely not.
Avoiding perfectly good punctuation because AI also uses it is a bit like refusing to drive a car because other people speed.
Yes, we’re aware that certain writing constructions are popping up everywhere, all the time. We even wrote a blog about it. But the real issue is whether there’s intention behind your writing. Punctuation be damned.
Every punctuation mark exists to make your writing clearer. If an em dash genuinely improves the flow of a sentence, use it. If you prefer en dashes, that’s your right. If a comma works better, use that instead. If rewriting the entire sentence makes everything simpler, then that’s what you should do.
At the end of the day, your loyalty should lie with clarity before any specific mark of punctuation.
So, which dash should I use when?
Here’s our handy dandy cheat sheet. May you never know dash confusion again.
| If you want to… | Use… |
| Join compound words | Hyphen (-) |
| Show a range or relationship | En dash (–) |
| Add an interruption or aside | En dash (–) or, if you’re feeling fancy, em dash (—) |
| Show deliberate omissions | Em dash (—) |
Once you know which job each one performs, choosing the right dash becomes surprisingly straightforward.
And if someone on the internet bashes you for your ‘obvious’ use of AI? Send them this article.
Still not sure how to make your writing sound human? We can help you out with that. Get in touch to find out how.
