Dash Insert drop-down menu. Dash The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to and , but differs from these symbols in both length and height. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash (–), equal to half the height of the font; the em dash (—), twice as long as the en dash; and the horizontal bar (―), whose length varies across typefaces. Historically, the names of en dash and em dash were loosely related to the width of a lower-case "n" and upper-case "M", respectively, in commonly used typefaces. Usage varies both within
Last antecedent rule in fact operates remotely on all the antecedents, binding them to the modifier. Nothing in the general literature on punctuation suggests such a mechanism. The last antecedent rule is also applied to contract interpretation. Last antecedent rule The last antecedent rule is a doctrine of interpretation of a statute, by which "Referential and qualifying phrases, where no contrary intention appears, refer solely to the last antecedent." The rule is typically bound by "common sense" and is flexible enough to avoid application that "would involve an absurdity, do violence to the plain intent of the language, or if the context for