The Em Dash: Quiz 1

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

She showed me a panoramic photo of Kangchenjunga—the third highest mountain on earth.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

John bought Sarah her favourite bouquet of flowers—a beautiful mix of alstroemerias, freesias, and roses.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

As part of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the Spanish ceded Gibraltar to the British—since then Spain has continually contested British sovereignty over the small territory at the entrance to the Mediterranean.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

When Troilus first sees Criseyde, he falls madly in love—Chaucer describes how his male gaze is no match for her self-confidence and he ends up averting his eyes.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Technically the world’s largest desert is not the Sahara—it’s Antarctica.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Damian, Seth, and Janet—those are the names I would give my children.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

In her presentation she kept mixing up her words—here’s one example: she would say that a kimono would often wear a geisha.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Count Mortimer—ordinarily so shy and reserved—raised a toast in honour of Priapus.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Ironically, when Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte Darthur, he was in prison—not very chivalric behaviour.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Mantuan’s Adulescentia—a collection of ten eclogues—was often read in grammar schools.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

In order to work on the painting Women in the Garden, Monet constructed a clever apparatus—a pulley system that could lower the large canvas into a trench in the ground.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

I bought a new—skirt, purse, and backpack.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

What a beautiful sunset—the whole sky is on fire!

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

The planet Mars has two moons within its gravitational field—they were discovered in 1877 by the astronomer Asaph Hall.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Some critics of capitalism—particularly those with Marxist leanings—believe that open and unregulated competition in the marketplace is to the advantage of Western companies.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

The office phones aren’t working—it’s all rather inconvenient because I really need to phone home.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

After we visited her parents, who insisted on us staying for dinner and showing us pictures of their trip to Mexico—after all this we finally managed to go out on a date.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Cumulus clouds—those puffy clouds at lower altitudes—usually have flat bases.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

Shona was so busy doing extracurricular activities that she hardly had time for her classes—it’s actually a wonder she managed to keep her scholarship.

Please determine if the following sentence uses the em dash correctly:

“It’s difficult to talk about our breakup. I can’t—.” Sammy’s voice trailed away.