Question

Which of the following forms of the presented sentence is grammatically and punctually correct?
Several former district offices--Alsace, Johnson County; Forginburg, Aloysius County; and Spottsboro, Sexton County--have become county offices. OR,
Several former district offices--Alsace, Johnson County; Forginburg, Aloysius County; and Spottsboro, Sexton County; have become county offices.

Answer 1

Several former district offices--Alsace, Johnson County; Forginburg, Aloysius County; and Spottsboro, Sexton County; have become county offices.

Answer 2

This may be a stupid question but what does the (--) really mean?

Answer 3

i think it's that long line that usually means break

Answer 4

Oh, @Igbasallote I always thought it was just a single dash to mean a break. lol :)

Answer 5

LGBASALLOTE not IGBASALLOTE :P lol

and idk lol..that's what i know too

Answer 6

Oh my bad :) :PPP lol

Answer 7

Eek, I actually disagree with @goformit100 and would say that the first sentence is correct. The em dash that you've used is to indicate a break in the sentence where you are listing the counties, and should be followed with another em dash to indicate the end of that break. A semicolon is used primarily for the joining of two similar independent clauses or for long lists with multiple commas in the list items. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#Em_dash for some more info about the em dash. William Strunk's book, Elements of Style, has some info using dashes too. Hope that helps!

Answer 8

The two dashes were supposed to form a single dash. So, I don't think that was a stupid question. Thank you tarheel_2014. I thought so too, but wasn't sure. I appreciate the reference.

Answer 9

I figured the dashes would form one, and was just a wee bit confused.o_O I was like, "did I miss something?" lol :}