I am not very familiar with using both the semicolon and the em dash very frequently, so could somebody help explain their functions, how they work, what differences they have between them and how to fluently use them in sentences? I want to improve my english by using them.
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First, a *colon* is used to join two independent clauses when the first leads to or is directly related to the next one, using a conjunction:
> I drank all the milk: you need to go to the store.
Note that both what comes before the colon and what comes after are complete thoughts that *can* stand on their own (they are *independent clauses*), but the colon indicates that they are closely related.
A *semicolon* is used to join two independent clauses that are still related, but one may not directly lead to the other and there is no conjunction between them.
> They were out of milk; I did buy eggs while I was there.
EN dashes and EM dashes are named after their size. An EN dash is about the size of N and EM dashes are about the size of M. They are both used in the same way. You can use them a lot like a colon, but the clauses don’t necessarily have to be independent. They do need to be *very* closely related. Dashes are used a lot for interjections.
> I got eggs – I was at the store to buy milk – so if you need any just let me know.
The difference is that EM dashes should be used *without* spaces between the words:
> I got eggs—I was at the store to buy milk—so if you need any just let me know.
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