Grammar: The Hyphen [ - ]
Page contents:
linking compound adjectives
linking compound nouns
linking prefixes to words
linking repetitive, or almost repetitive, words
linking compound numbers
linking people's names
At 5' 7", the short-story writer O. Henry might also be described as a short story writer, but the two descriptions are clearly different. In this capacity,
the hyphen shows that the adjectives express one idea (a light-brown overcoat) rather than two (a light brown overcoat). But hyphenation usually
occurs only in the attributive (when the compound precedes the noun) –
She is a well-known actor
They are law-abiding citizens
Jane is a soft-hearted woman
The dress has an eye-catching pattern
Compound adjectives are not usually hyphenated in the predicative (when they come after the noun or pronoun) –
She’s an actor well known
Most people are law abiding
Jane is soft hearted
The pattern on the dress is eye catching
Exceptions are compounds beginning with ill, mid and self, which are hyphenated in all circumstances –
an ill-conceived idea (attributive)
an idea ill-conceived (predicative)
a mid-life crisis (attributive)
a crisis of mid-life (predicative)
a self-evident truth (attributive)
a truth that is self-evident (predicative)
In a series of related compound adjectives (e.g. first-class, second-class, third-class), we generally drop the second component in all but the last
instance. But although the rule is rarely followed, the hyphen (called a trailing hyphen) should appear in all instances –
British universities award first-, second- and third-class degrees on their
three- and four-year courses.
Hyphens are not used with compounds whose first components are ly-ending adverbs –
an easily understood lesson
readily available ingredients
a commonly cited example
Most compound nouns are either open (bus stop, clothes line, post office, swimming pool) or closed (boyfriend, mastermind, toothpaste, wallpaper),
but a few are hyphenated, often to avoid unsightly spelling –
get-together
mother-in-law
single-mindedness
train-spotting
Compounds with the suffix room are usually closed when the first component is monosyllabic –
bathroom
bedroom
storeroom
(but box room)
and open when the first component has more than one syllable –
breakfast room
dining room
living room
reception room
utility room
The latter are hyphenated only as noun-adjective compounds (nouns describing other nouns) –
We need new dining-room furniture.
(See also compound nouns.)
There is unfortunately no consistency in this use of the hyphen –
anti-aircraft anticlimax
counter-attack counterproductive
non-addictive nonconformist
post-Renaissance postgraduate
pre-war precondition
semi-conscious semicircle
sub-aquatic subconscious
Only a dictionary or familiarity with the words can decide. It is, however, crucial to use a hyphen after the prefix re where not to do so would create
another word with a different meaning –
re-form (shape anew); reform (improve)
re-bound (bound anew); rebound (bounce, reverberate)
re-cover (cover anew); recover (recuperate)
(For a more extensive list, see re, re-.)
Hyphens are also normally used when the prefix is a single (often capitalised) letter –
e-mail (but now usually email)
S-bend
T-Junction
T-shirt
U-turn
X-ray
Linking Repetitive, or Almost Repetitive, Words
These are generally confined to informal English –
never-never
hush-hush
tick-tock
mumbo-jumbo
jiggery-pokery
The hyphen is also used to link the following kinds of number.
Cardinal compounds between and including twenty-one and ninety-nine –
thirty-three
sixty-seven
eighty-five
but not above this –
two hundred
three hundred thousand
Ordinal compounds between twenty-first and ninety-ninth –
twenty-ninth
forty-second
seventy-fourth
but, again, not above this –
one hundredth
three thousandth
Fractions –
two-thirds
three-quarters
seven-eighths
The dash, however, not the hyphen, is used to span calendar years and page ranges –
Beethoven (1770–1827)
pp. 127–34
(See also numbers.)
Price-Jones
Barnes-Wallace
Douglas-Home
Anne-Marie
Jean-Paul