Uses of Slashes
The slash is one of the punctuation marks. You may have seen words like stroke, oblique, backward slash, forward slash, or straight or vertical slash. All these are the same things used in the English language with the general term slash.
Types of Slashes
There are three types of slashes namely, backward slash, vertical slash, and forward slash.
Backward Slash \
The backward slash is not generally used in the English language. It is used in coding language.
- D:\personal data\pictures\2020
- C:\Users\Admin\Downloads
Vertical Slash |
The vertical, upright, or straight slash has two usages. It is used in coding language. Secondly, it is used in mathematics. The vertical slash is also used for phrases like
“such that” or “it is true that”.
- {x | x < 5}
The set of all x such that x is smaller than 5
- If (x == ‘c’ || x == ‘d’)
If x is equal to C or D
Forward Slash /
The forward slash is used for different purposes.
To Separate Lines
A forward slash is used to separate lines in prose and poetry when we want to write short lines or verses on one line. It shows a line break. When we have short lines, we usually write them together on one line.
Mary had a little lamb / little lamb / little lamb /
Mary had a little lamb/ its fleece was white as snow
I had the world but as the world, Gratiano,/ A stage where every man plays a part,/ And mine a sad one. (The Merchant of Venice)
To Indicate “or”
We often use a forward slash to indicate the word “or”. It is a substitute for the word “or”. Here, the forward slash means or.
- She may have pressed the Refresh/Reload button.
- She may have pressed the Refresh or Reload button.
- I will buy shoes and/or shirts.
- I will buy shoes, or I will buy shirts, or I will buy shoes and shirts.
To Form Short Forms
To form a short form of words or phrases, you can use a forward slash. Avoid using this in formal text.
- w/o = without
- c/0 = care of
For Connecting and Conflicting Relationships
You can use a forward slash between words or phrases that have connecting and conflicting relationships.
- Pro-life/pro-choice is a gut issue in some countries.
- Village life/city life debate is an easy topic that every student can take part in.
For Fractions
A forward slash is also used as a mathematical symbol that denotes fractions.
- 5/6
- 4/10
To Denote “per”
A forward slash is used in measurements to denote “per”.
- I am driving at 100 km/h.
- km/h = kilometer per hour
- His typing speed is 130 w/m.
- w/m = words per minute
In Dates
Dates can be used in different formats. In some formats, a forward slash is used to separate day, month, and year.
- I was born on 12/12/2010
- 12/12/2010 = December 12, 2010
- This card is valid up to 9/2015
- 9/2015 = September 2015
In Website Address
Forward slashes are used in URLs to separate parts of a website address.
- https://www.studyenglishpage.com/p/grammar.html
- https://www.studyenglishpage.com/p/punctuation-marks.html
Space with Slash
In line break
Mary had a little lamb / little lamb / little lamb /
Mary had a little lamb/ its fleece was white as snow
Between alternative phrases or multi-word terms
World War II / Second World War
