Punctuation marks play a large role in the Russian language. This was noted by F. Buslaev, indicating that they contribute to the clarity of presentation of thought. Everyone knows the phrase from the tale "Twelve Months": "You can’t have mercy on execution." This is a good example of how punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence.
Punctuation of the text is always difficult. And it’s especially difficult to put a dash in sentences, both simple and complex. This is explained by the polysemy and various functions of the punctuation mark. Moreover, in some cases, it is identified with a comma.
The role of the dash in sentences
The grammar of the Russian language divides all punctuation into distinguishing, separating and separating. In addition, they can be single and doubles.
The separating dash is between the subject and predicate, homogeneous members and the generalizing word in simple sentences and between complex parts: unionless, less often with allied connection. Highlighting is used as a paired character in applications, introductory and plug-in constructions. Another (additional) function of the dash is the execution on the letter of sentences with direct speech and dialogue. Thus, we can identify the algorithm of actions when setting this punctuation mark: remember the rule and determine the role of the dash in the sentence. This approach will help you write consciously and avoid
punctuation errors.
Dash between subject and predicate
The most famous rule for setting the punctuation mark in question is inside the grammatical basis. Its role in this case is reduced to replacing the missing part of the compound predicate, usually nominal. Hence the conditions for setting a dash in a similar case. The sentence “subject dash predicate” will correspond to one of the schemes:
- noun - noun (both in the nominative case): "Siberia is the vast and rich land of Russia";
- infinitive - infinitive: “To learn - to work constantly”;
- noun - infinitive or infinitive - noun: "To do good is the law of life of moral people";
- numeral - numeral: "Five six - thirty."
Before the words THIS MEANS THIS IS ALWAYS put a dash: "Helping the elderly is a sign of good breeding." Another possible case: the infinitive is an adverb with the meaning (or category word) of the state, but only if there is a logical pause between the subject and the predicate: “Not knowing the rules for crossing the road is life-threatening”.
Extra dash
It is also necessary to know well when the punctuation mark between the subject and the predicate is not put. In such cases, a punctuation mistake is often made, which is not always explained by simple carelessness. Here are the rules fixed by Russian grammar:
- subject - personal pronoun; predicate - noun;
- between the main members, expressed by the nominal part of speech, a negative particle is NOT used or unions: HOW, WORD, HOW, BE;
- the predicate is an adjective, usually in short form.
Here are the possible sentences with a dash — examples of their use in a speech: “You are a person with indefatigable energy,” “A young rake is not an example to follow,” “Her eyes are like fire,” “The boy is timid and overly shy.”
It is also necessary to note the following options (they are not so common): “The Countess is already an old lady” - before the predicate-noun there is a secondary member related to it; “This fisherman is a wonderful person” - inversion (that is, the reverse order of words).
Although it should be noted that staging a dash in sentences of this type is allowed in works of art. The author’s task is to focus the reader’s attention on the meaning expressed by the subject or predicate.
Dash in a simple sentence, syntactically or semantically incomplete
Quite often, especially in colloquial speech, which needs to be fixed on a letter, one may encounter cases of missing a predicate (or a secondary term). The meaning does not suffer, but the design is difficult. This is an example of an incomplete sentence in which a missing member (often a predicate) is redundant. The reasons may be as follows:
- it is easily restored from the context (“The former wanted meat, the latter wanted fish, so they decided to limit themselves to a salad”);
- with syntactic parallelism ("Here - everything is mine, beyond the forest - mine, beyond that field - also mine");
- in constructions where there are two nouns - the first in the dative, the second in the accusative case ("Sister - a doll, brother - a typewriter").
Punctuation of homogeneous members
There is another case of setting a dash in a simple sentence. This applies to the punctuation of homogeneous terms, where you can also highlight a few points.
- Homogeneous members - a generalizing word ("Daisies, cornflowers, bells - wildflowers looked good in a vase").
- A generic word: homogeneous members - ... ("Classmates: Vitaliy, Yura, Sergey - immediately came to the rescue").
- At the place of the passage of the second part of the double alliance linking homogeneous members ("The owner not only warmly received the guest - he also gave him a whole basket of food on the way").
- When opposing or unexpected relations are established between homogeneous members ("Contrary to expectations, she was not afraid - she was even glad to hear").
Highlighting mark on application
A dash can be used in a simple sentence and as a double sign. This is the isolation of the application or the allocation of introductory and plug-in structures. Sometimes in such situations, it is allowed to replace it with commas. But there are cases when a dash is the only possible punctuation mark. In order not to be mistaken in its formulation, the proposed rules should be remembered.
Here are the most common dash sentences: examples of highlighting applications.
- Before him, you can put the word A EXACTLY: "The hostess has prepared a delicious dinner - fish soup made from fish and a salad of fresh vegetables."
- It has an explanatory character: “The owner who came out onto the porch — still a rather peppy old man — peered at the faces of unexpected guests for a long time.”
- The application stands before the definite word: "Tasty sweet berry - strawberries for dessert, delighted everyone who was sitting at the table."
- One of the homogeneous members spreads: “By the evening, everyone had arrived: an elderly aunt, a cousin — the son of a recently deceased uncle, three cousins on the mother’s side”.
- The dash separates several homogeneous applications from the defined word: "Excellent student from the first grade, an active participant in all school events, support and the head of the team - Marina could not help but take part in the upcoming holiday."
Highlighting character for intro and plug-in constructions
Sentences of this type may include commas, brackets, dashes. How not to make a mistake in choosing the right punctuation mark? What characterizes sentences with dashes?
Examples that illustrate this punctuation rule well indicate that the introductory design:
- widespread: "Little visitors to the workshop, or - as affectionate owners and authors of the work - inspirers of new ideas affectionately call them, have always been welcome guests";
- conveys the feelings of the author (in this case, the dash also has an exclamation or question mark): “The whole program - how do you like it? “As a result, she was prepared to please one person.”
When selecting plug-in structures, dashes and brackets are used to the same extent.
Complicated sentences with a composing and subordinate connection
In such cases, a dash is usually not the main punctuation mark and can be used instead of a comma. Such a replacement is explained by the fact that attention is focused on keywords or their combination in the sentence, the special intonational design of the phrase.
Here are examples of appropriate dashes in a complex sentence with union communication.
- Contrast or surprise relations in the BSC (compound): “Drop a long straw into the water and it will easily float along the waves of the rivulet.”
- One or both parts of the SSP - a sentence: "Instantly - and the robber was right in front of her."
- In SPP (complex), if the main thing is the subordinate explanatory, concessive, or conditional: “If during our absence someone knocks, don’t open the door!”
- A repeated verb-verb is omitted in one or several parts of a complex sentence: "Some believed that such a donation would be enough, others that the amount still needed to be increased."
- In the SPP with a homogeneous subordination of the subordinate clauses located at its beginning: “What happened after he left, why the sister opened the door to the stranger - he never found answers to these questions.”
Dash in a complex sentence with all-union communication
Russian grammar quite clearly defines the punctuation in BSP. The main thing that you need to pay attention to is to correctly establish the semantic relations concluded in it. A dash between sentences (predicative parts) of the BSP is placed in several cases.
In the first part - an indication of the time or condition of the action: "Read the book to the end - you will go to the rides." This proposal can easily be redesigned in NGN.
Second part:
- indicates a quick change of events or an unexpected result: "The door opened ajar - there was a strong clap";
- contrasted with the first (= A): “A lot of time has elapsed - all yearning has not passed”;
- indicates a consequence or result (= THEN, SO): "I will not return here anymore - soon everything will be forgotten";
- contains a comparison (= WHAT, WORLDWIDE): “It will look from underneath - it will burn with fire”;
- joins with the words SUCH, THIS, SUCH: "In ten days everything will fall into place - such an idea calmed and inspired hope."
Thus, sentences with a dash (we gave examples in the article) with knowledge of the rules will not cause great difficulties.