:) within their usage? why use brackets over dashes? thanks. :0
dashes are used to describe like ex-boyfriend brackets are used as explanation like jerk(my ex-boyfriend), etc.
Well this is a dash - and this is a bracket [ ], they're two totally different things.
Dashes are used in a more informal contex. Brackets are more dignified and therefore more appropriate for a literary, legal or commercial text. However, there is another difference. When you use a bracket, then there has to be a natural point where you close the bracket. A dash, on the other hand, can stand on its own. That's my brother -- he's seen us and is coming towards us! My brother (who was coming up the road at the time) saw us. In other word, a dash can mark an abrupt hiatus in the narrative, whereas brackets mark an aside.
brackets and dashes are never used for the same thing. they are not interchangeable. brackets are for: 1. in quoted material they show when something is the authors words instead a part of the direct quote. for example someone says she sucks and I want to share that I have to say who she is so I write, she [Hillary Clinton] sucks. 2. in parentheses they are used when you need to enclose something that is already inside parenthesis. (these are the words in parenthesis but I need to add more parenthetical info or put in a date or reference or something so I use brackets instead of another set of parenthesis [1999]). A dash is a bit more complicated. It has many uses. Please note that most keyboards do not have dashes on them. They only have this -. you need two of those to make a dash --. Or you insert a dash with your processing program. 1. You can use in place of parenthesis, but NOT brackets! Dashes set off interruptions. Clinton is trying--very obviously--to cheat by counting Michigan and Florida. 2. Use dashes to punctuate an appositive. this is the complicated part because there are many ways you can make an appositive. You'll have to look up appositives yourself because I don't have time to explain all the nuances to you. A person who hungers for power should not be trusted--namely Hillary Clinton
