Which sentence uses a dash to set off a parenthetical phrase?

Which sentence uses a dash to set off a parenthetical phrase?

• A. He found making a selection from the myriad punctuation marks available in the English language - commas, semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and ellipses - a cause of acute choice anxiety.
• B. He found making a selection from the myriad punctuation marks available in the English language: commas, semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and ellipses, a cause of acute choice anxiety.
• C. He found making a selection from the myriad punctuation marks available in the English language (commas, semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and ellipses) a cause of acute choice anxiety.
• D. He found making a selection from the myriad punctuation marks available in the English language — commas, semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and ellipses — a cause of acute choice anxiety.

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how a dash can set off a parenthetical remark. The sentence uses em dashes to enclose the list of punctuation marks, marking that entire list as extra information that interrupts the flow of the main clause. This dash creates a strong, clear separation, signaling that the aside could be removed without altering the core meaning of the sentence. The em dash version is preferred because it conveys a noticeable interruption—more than commas but less intrusive than changing the sentence structure. The other options rely on different punctuation: a hyphen-like mark that isn’t the standard dash for this function, a colon that introduces the list in a different way, or parentheses that set off the material with less emphasis. The em dash version best demonstrates dash usage to bracket a parenthetical phrase.

The main idea here is how a dash can set off a parenthetical remark. The sentence uses em dashes to enclose the list of punctuation marks, marking that entire list as extra information that interrupts the flow of the main clause. This dash creates a strong, clear separation, signaling that the aside could be removed without altering the core meaning of the sentence.

The em dash version is preferred because it conveys a noticeable interruption—more than commas but less intrusive than changing the sentence structure. The other options rely on different punctuation: a hyphen-like mark that isn’t the standard dash for this function, a colon that introduces the list in a different way, or parentheses that set off the material with less emphasis. The em dash version best demonstrates dash usage to bracket a parenthetical phrase.