the difference between a dash and a hyphen. Compose sentences of your own to illustrate your points.

http://owlet.letu.edu/grammarlinks/punctuation/punct4d.html

The key difference between a dash and a hyphen lies in their length and usage.

A dash is longer than a hyphen and is mainly used to provide emphasis or interrupt a sentence. It can be either an en dash (–) or an em dash (—).

To create an en dash, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Alt + 0150” on Windows, or on a Mac, press “Option + Hyphen”. An en dash is used to show a range, such as "pages 10–15" or "Monday–Friday".

On the other hand, an em dash is created by typing two consecutive hyphens (--), which most word processors will automatically convert to an em dash. An em dash is used to add emphasis or to signal a sharp break in a sentence. For example: "She finally realized what had happened—it was a terrible mistake."

A hyphen, on the other hand, is a shorter horizontal line (-) used to connect words or parts of words. It is commonly used in compound words or to separate syllables within a word. For instance: "He is a well-known actor" or "Please re-check your answer."

In summary, dashes are longer and used for emphasis or interruption, while hyphens are shorter and used to connect words or syllables. Remember, the specific usage and style guidelines may vary depending on the context and writing conventions.