The Weltchek Weekly

Someone sent me the bio of a newly appointed chief executive officer. It said he served on an executive leadership team “from 2010 – 2013.”

The problem with “from 2010 – 2013” is that it’s redundant. The dash—in this case the en dash—means from the first date up to and including the second date. So, as written, this was saying from twice.

If you’re going to use the en dash, don’t use qualifying words like from, to, or through. Or omit the dash and use words.

The bio writer had several options that would have been correct:

• The CEO served on the leadership team from 2010 to 2013.
• The CEO served on the leadership team from 2010 through 2013.
• The CEO served on the leadership team 2010 – 2013.

The same principles apply elsewhere. If you’re sending an invitation, for instance, you could write either “Join us Thursday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.” or “Join us Thursday, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.”