Anonymous  +  358515 Tue, 01 May 07 12:13 PM Hi, I've been learning about colons and dashes on another site and there are a couple of examples I'd like some advice on. Have a look at the following sentences: "Only one course was open to us: surrender." Could this be written as "Only one course was open to us--surrender."? "There was only one thing left to do--study till dawn" Could this be written as "There was only one thing left to do: study till dawn."? Personally I think the dash puts more emphasis on the following word(s). Does it matter which one I use within this context? Thanks in advance Anonymous Colons

	Conchita57  +  358552 Tue, 01 May 07 01:24 PM I don't think it matters whether you use a colon or a dash in those sentences.  Some say that the colon is a bit more formal. Conchita57 Joined on Sat, Mar 10 2007 Madrid, Iberian Peninsula Full Member 315 In the beginning was the word. Colons

	Philip  +  358684 Tue, 01 May 07 04:57 PM I believe a dash is used to indicate a pause in the speech.  Yours are fine.  I like to think of a colon as being more than just a pause; I like to think of it as a equals sign in math (=).  Yours all fit that condition as well.  Philip Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Veteran Member 8,737 At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen Colons