IXL | Use dashes | 6th grade language arts

Insert one dash where needed.

—

"We'll use the town of Killarney as our base," the Irish tour guide said. "Then we'll head out to oh, how about the Dingle Peninsula?"

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Learn with an example

question

Insert two dashes where needed.

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A fungus has been reducing the bean yield of coffee trees in Central America, so the United States the world's largest consumer of coffee has funded a research program to investigate the outbreak.

key idea

A dash often represents a pause in a sentence. The dash can show a clear break or set off extra content from the rest of the sentence, such as an aside, an explanation, or additional details.

According to legend, King Midas ultimately died of starvation—all because of his wish that everything he touched should turn to gold.

The dash shows a clear break.

Warren strives to control every aspect of his life, but life—surprise, surprise—doesn't always accommodate his wishes.

The dashes set off an aside from the rest of the sentence.

Certain quirks—repeatedly washing one's hands, checking that doors are locked, or counting things—may actually be symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The dashes set off additional details from the rest of the sentence.

In dialogue or quoted text, a dash can indicate an interruption or mid-sentence correction.

Lauren protested, "But—no, you're mistaken!"

The dash shows an interruption.

solution

Insert dashes before and after the world's largest consumer of coffee to set off the aside from the rest of the sentence.

A fungus has been reducing the bean yield of coffee trees in Central America, so the United States—the world's largest consumer of coffee—has funded a research program to investigate the outbreak.

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