I. Dash ( -- )
The function of dash is to make a certain piece of information more stressful or more dramatic, as in :
· Don’t forget—once again do not forget—to post the letter today.
· We—the students of English Department—practice speaking intensively.
· The criminals robbed the bank—all the money was taken.
A dash is also used to introduce additional details in order to make a previous piece of information clearer or more vivid. In this case, dash is similar to that is, viz or namely.
· Indonesian lies between two oceans—the Pacific and the Indian Oceans.
· The kangaroo—the native animal of Australia—can jump extremely quickly.
This mark may be used to show alternatives; it is often replaced by the word “or”.
Example:
· The lecturer wrote in his grammar book that the verb to depend can be followed by the preposition upon/on.
· To begin a formal letter, we may write Dear Sir/Madam if we do not know who the receiver is.
· The three dots might represent something irrelevant or necessity.
J. Omission Marks (…)
Example:
· “Language … a set of rules … for communication,“ the definition read.
· “The most important part of speech is verb … “ Hornsby said.
· “ … two kinds of complements, namely, the subject complement and the object complement.” They concluded.
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