Example: The apartment is off campus. Here is how to type an en dash: On a PC, hold down the ALT key and type 0150 on the numeric keypad located on the far right of the keyboard. Examples: We usually use no article to talk about things in general.. 2. Generally, there are no set rules or etiquette when it comes to deciding exactly how your hyphenated last name will read. Below is a extensive list of words that separated by 2 dashes or hyphens. Correct. There is also an “en dash”—whose length is between that of the hyphen and the em dash, and its best usage is to indicate inclusive dates and numbers: It can also be used for flight or train routes. Rule 3. Well is an adverb, and thus many fall into the school of thought that a hyphen is unnecessary. ‘The president will speak to small-business men’ (‘businessmen’ normally is one word, but ‘The president will speak to small businessmen’ is unclear).”. The slacker was a video gamer. Examples and Observations "The hyphen continues to serve us, often by removing ambiguity from sentences. Another deviation from the basic rule: adverbs ending in “ly” aren’t hyphenated. one thousand two hundred twenty-one dollars. Usually, you can tell whether a hyphen is necessary by applying common sense and mentally excluding one of the words in question, testing how the words would work together without the hyphen. Hyphenated words list. The boss or her coat? This advice applies mainly when joining whole words with each other. If they all agree, you know you have a pretty solid rule on your hands. But do not hesitate to hyphenate a rare usage if it avoids confusion. The examples should be preceded by a noun: A balanced meal includes several different food groups—proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates. Rule 5. I’d go for three because I think it’s important to note that “30-day” and “dry-aged” are not independent of each other. The hyphen is requisite. Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions. With number ranges, you can remove the first digit of the second number if it’s the same as the first number’s. Today we are going to look at the list of hyphenated compound words and how to use them in sentence using examples. The categories listed below often overlap, so don’t worry too much about whether your intended use of the colon fits one category perfectly. Never hesitate to add a hyphen if it solves a possible problem. Professional Web Design by weblinxinc.com, Remembering Jane Straus | May 18, 1954—February 25, 2011. 1 rule of language may be this: Rules will fail you. thirty-two children Example: Sir Winthrop Heinz-Eakins will attend. Although there are rules and customs governing hyphens, there are also situations when writers must decide whether to add them for clarity. First, hyphens must never be used interchangeably with dashes (see the Dashes section), which are noticeably longer. It is always better to get an overview of compound words and their types before starting. We convinced our teacher that we needed a field trip—who knows how—so we’re all going to a publishing company on Thursday. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. is a letter or set of letters that follows a root word. A hyphen after re- is not needed because there is no confusion with another word. Remember not to use spaces around hyphens. Examples: Rule 4. The word prefix itself contains the prefix pre. . Correct: A five-and-one-half-foot-long sign. Rule 3. all-knowing. Material created by Jane Straus and GrammarBook.com. For example, if you think “pre1960" is an unambiguous as “pre-1960,” that doesn’t make it right. Omitting the hyphen would cause confusion with repress. Rule 5. Examples: Here’s the Associated Press Stylebook’s overview of how to use hyphens. Examples: My great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War. oil-based sludge. Although the preceding hyphens help clarify unusual terms, they are optional and might not be every writer's choice. Hyphenated Adjectives. For clarity, many writers hyphenate prefixes ending in a vowel when the root word begins with the same letter. There’s no consensus on how to hyphenate terms like this. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. Omitting the hyphen would cause confusion with recover. state-of-the-art design. Examples: There’s only general guidance on hyphenation. Examples: Example: We do not use an article when talking about sports and games. Identify any errors with hyphens or dashes. The date range began on July 6 and ended on September 17. Correct: The sign is five and one-half feet long. Correct: a family-owned cafe. One article distinguishes hyphens from en and em dashes.. Another talks about open, closed, and hyphenated compound words.. a pick-me-up, mother-in-law, good-hearted) or that there is a relationship between the words that make up the compound: for example, rock-forming minerals are minerals that form rocks. the annual dance-athon Some type of punctuation is needed after “his 1952 composition 4′33″.” An em dash would be a good option here: Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″—a performance of the absence of deliberate sound. If the employee or the boss recently assumed the job — and if rewriting wasn’t an option — I’d go with “his new fur-coat-wearing boss.” If the coat is new, I’d go with “his new-fur-coat-wearing boss.”. Rule 1. … Use a hyphen whenever ambiguity would result if it were omitted. Examples: When using numbers, hyphenate spans or estimates of time, distance, or other quantities. Writers often hyphenate prefixes when they feel a word might be distracting or confusing without the hyphen. Examples: In describing family relations, great requires a hyphen, but grand becomes part of the word without a hyphen. For clarity, writers often hyphenate when the last letter in the root word is the same as the first letter in the suffix. They believe that set phrases, because of their familiarity (e.g., high school, ice cream, twentieth century), can go before a noun without risk of confusing the reader. When in doubt, look it up. Suffixes form new words or alter the original word to perform a different task. Me? Incorrect: 300—325 people Many editors do not hyphenate certain well-known expressions. 3. Hyphens' main purpose is to glue words together. a high school senior If you take out “dry-aged” you’re left with a “30-day steak,” which is nonsense. No-meater is too confusing without the hyphen. 1. The person, not the coat. Suffixes are not usually hyphenated. Rule 1. an off-campus apartment Examples: wiretap-proof. The standard in MLA is as follows: When it appears before the noun, well known should be hyphenated. Generally, hyphenate two or more words when they come before a noun they modify and act as a single idea. a twentieth-century throwback. Hyphens are used in many compound words to show that the component words have a combined meaning (e.g. mid-July. Here are some expressions whose ambiguity can be removed by a hyphen: old furniture dealer, hot cow’s milk, the minister met small businessmen, 30 odd members, a little known city, recovered the sofa, man eating tiger. Still, many readers would scratch their heads for a moment over danceathon and eelesque. Remembering Jane Straus | May 18, 1954—February 25, 2011 | Author of the original Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. It can join several different types of things: A rule of thumb for the hyphen is that the resulting word must act as one unit; therefore, the hyphen creates a new word that has a single meaning.