Questions tagged [hyphens]
For questions about when and whether to use a hyphen (-) to join two words or two syllables of a single word together.
150
questions
0
votes
0answers
24 views
Does a plus sign affect hyphen usage? Is it “+3-year” or “+3 year”?
If I’m referring to an impairment rating of +3 years, do I say “+3-year impairment rating” or “+3 year impairment rating”?
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Is it correct to say "how-many-day a tour was it"?
How-many-day a tour was it?
How many days was the tour?
How many days of tour were you on?
How-many-day tour of Cambridge were you on?
Are the above sentences grammatically correct?
I understand ...
0
votes
1answer
67 views
Pre-school or preschool?
When I check my various dictionaries (Longman; Cambridge; Merriam-Webster and a bilingual dictionary), preschool is spelt without a hyphen. Still, when I google it, I get a fair number of hits for ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Ant-keeping? Or Antkeeping?
Up until now I was under the impression that hyphens are very rare in the English language. At least when it comes down to compounds. (This is different from my native language, where it is rather ...
0
votes
0answers
11 views
Authors hyphenated in science and hyphen with adjectives
I am writing a mathematical research paper and in our area when a result is due to two (or more) authors one uses the two names with a hyphen (for example Mather-Gaffney criterion or Abel-Jacobi ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
Is it (patho)physiological, (patho-)physiological or (patho)-physiological? [closed]
I'm not sure what the correct usage of hyphens is if they are used to provide a word alternative.
Example: These are released from cells under certain (patho)physiological conditions.
Bonus question: ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
hyphen after an open compund noun for a hierarchical two-level compund noun
EDIT: The sentence is what I would consider a minimum working example and is originally followed by some subordinate clause. I am not looking to simply reduce word count but to improve intelligibility ...
6
votes
2answers
311 views
Are noun+noun and noun's (aphostrope) + noun the same?
First, please see these examples:
Noun+noun:
a three-hour journey
a ten-pound note
a four-week course
noun + 's + noun:
I've got a week's holiday starting on Monday.
Julia has got three weeks' ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
Modern day vs modern-day in a sentence
I'm preparing for academic IELTS by writing some essays and then correcting those using a grammar correction app.
In the following sentence,
...as opposed to the modern day where the numbers are more ...
2
votes
2answers
39 views
What are the rules for capitalizing the second part of a hyphenated word in a title?
I would assume that it both parts of the hyphenated word would be capitalized in a standard example (e.g. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler). However, I noticed in my piano book, it ...
1
vote
1answer
219 views
Hyphen usage with 'off-limits'/'off limits'
I have seen both 'off-limits' and 'off limits' used in the same context. A thing that is off(-)limits is forbidden to be used or otherwise restricted to only some people's usage from my understanding.
...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
Can I use the combination "multi-adjective+noun"?
I'd like to learn if I can use the combination "multi-adjective+noun" to form an adjective.
Examples;
This is a multi-rigid-body analysis.
(I mean that this analysis has more than one ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
How do we capitalize a hyphenated adjective which starts with an abbrevation in the beginning of a sentence?
I am really confused right now and I can't seem to find a straight answer to this question.
I was writing an essay and I am stumped on the correct capitalization when it came to starting a sentence ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
"A well Oxford-educated politician" OR "A well-Oxford-educated politician"?
I saw many examples like "He is an Oxford-educated politician" and I'm curious about the usage of hyphens here by adding "well" in the front.
Is it
"He is a well-Oxford-...
0
votes
0answers
12 views
A question about the word repellent
which one is correct? Rub some of this mosquito repellent on your legs or Rub some of this mosquito-repellent on your legs. I think the first one is correct. However, I have seen the second one in ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
When is hyphenation optional?
I have written the following sentence that I am unsure wether if it is correct:
She is a red-headed and good-natured girl.
I have decided to hyphenate the words ‘redheaded’ and ‘goodnatured’.
Is ...
1
vote
2answers
45 views
How should an „anti-human trafficking operation“ be hyphenated?
How should an „anti-human trafficking operation“ be hyphenated? I recently saw this expression in a newspaper article, with a hyphen between „anti“ and „human“. It took me some time to figure out that ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
What is the difference between "state of the art" and "state-of-the-art"?
Sometimes I see sentences with "state of the art" and others with "state-of-the-art".
What is the difference if it has a hyphen?
0
votes
0answers
7 views
Should I use a hyphen in premodifiers referring to a time period? [duplicate]
As the heading says: Should I use a hyphen in premodifiers referring to a time period? That is, should I write
A five-year stay
A 60-credit programme
A year-long ordeal
or
A five year stay
A 60 ...
2
votes
2answers
55 views
Which is correct? dubious looking + noun Or dubious-looking + noun?
I'm currently writing an essay. I don't know whether or not it's 'dubious looking' or 'dubious-looking' when describing a noun.
For example, 'dubious(-)looking' form. I know the hyphen is used when ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
"mini-skydiver" vs "miniskydiver."
Example sentence:
The cockroach fell to the floor like a mini-skydiver and scurried out of the bathroom.
Some style guides say that you shouldn't use a hyphen with the prefix "mini."
But I ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
What is the usage of the tailing hyphen without connecting to the second word?
The paper I am reading says,
On the other hand, the side of the split comes from challenges made in the 1970s to the primarily white, non-disabled, heterosexual, and otherwise privileged mainstream ...
1
vote
1answer
403 views
What's the difference between 'time-consuming' and 'time-consumed'?
How do I distinguish whether to use v-ing or v-ed within compound adjective?
0
votes
1answer
167 views
"on this matter" or " in this regard" here?
In addition to the main question, it is master or master's more appropriated here?
.On the other hand, graduated with a master’s that provides the latest strategies to tackle agricultural-associated ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Is it necessary to add hyphens before this location?
I am wondering whether I need to add hyphens to Karala in this context? Is it necessary?
Moreover, this specific education allows her to aid like no other to her home region --Karala, whose population ...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
Are hyphens required in this case? [duplicate]
I am wondering whether I have to use hyphens in this case? I haven't used them before in the text this sentence is included in, but they seem necessary here. or maybe I could just avoid them?
....
0
votes
1answer
57 views
“a lump the size of a golf ball” or “of the size” or “a golf-ball-sized lump”?
Which one of them is grammatically correct?
a lump the size of a golf ball
a lump of the size of a golf ball
a golf-ball-sized lump
Which one of them is used more in daily language specifically in ...
0
votes
2answers
55 views
Why is it "Server Side Include" instead of "Server-Side Include"?
Thanks to Lambie I recently learned that compound adjectives are hyphenated, for example server-side request forgery.
When looking up server-side include(s), it appears that most places write this ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Where should hyphens go in "five thousand dollar(s)"?
Which of the following sentences is correct?
She won a five-thousand-dollar prize!
She won a five thousand-dollar prize!
She won a five thousand dollar prize!
She won a five thousand dollars prize!...
-1
votes
1answer
212 views
Capitalization and hyphenation in words like 'southeastern' [closed]
Is it
South-Eastern Ukraine,
Southeastern Ukraine, or
South Eastern Ukraine
? What about capitalization? I saw various spellings. Which one is the most advisable? Don't close the question.
0
votes
0answers
84 views
Is it correct to use 'home based'?
In the following sentence, is it grammatically correct to use 'home based'? I wrote that sentence. I'd like to know whether the word 'home based' should be hyphenated or not. I think it doesn't need a ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
Use of hyphen in "Synthetic free-fiber insulation"?
On a jacket care label I found this sentence:
"Synthetic free-fiber insulation"
Is this correct use of hyphen? (given that it should mean that the fiber in the insulation is free from ...
-1
votes
1answer
59 views
E-mail or e-mail or E/email? [closed]
E-mail or e-mail or E/email? I am finding a variety of content on the proper way to write this term.
0
votes
1answer
269 views
How do I hyphenate things like 'then-British Prime Minister'?
What if a prefix is added not to just one word but to a multi-word phrase? What should I do in terms of hyphen(s) and blank(s)? 'Then-British Prime Minister'? 'Then British Prime Minister'?
10
votes
1answer
2k views
When can I hyphenate "in-place"?
To me, these feel correct:
They were replaced in-place.
The dancers twirl in-place.
Protections are in place.
It shows squares in place of symbols.
But trying to look for information on its ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
High school student vs. high-school student
I thought high school should have an hyphen in the middle when used as an adjective. Therefore:
I'm in high school (noun)
I'm a high-school student. (adjective)
But after a Google Book ...
0
votes
2answers
107 views
Should vertically carved have a hyphen?
I described this as "vertically carved characters":
I was told that you usually put an hyphen when you have a verb.
I did a Google search, and I found both the hyphen and hyphenless versions:
[......
0
votes
1answer
47 views
Hyphenation of the words anyone, anymore, anything
I'm confused about how I should hyphenate these words because MS Word often suggests something like this: an-yone, an-ymore. According to Google, MS Word is right and we can hyphenate them in two ...
1
vote
2answers
59 views
Should I hyphen the adjective here?
How would you write these two sentences:
It's quiet at nighttime.
It was a night-time ritual.
Should I hyphen the second sentence (as I have)?
?
0
votes
1answer
173 views
Hyphen with multiple adjectives
A five-year-old whiskey
A five year old boy
Should multiple adjectives describing a noun be hyphenated?
0
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I write the word 'mother-in-law' as 'mother in law' or 'mother in-law'?
In Longman Dictionary I have found the word 'mother-in-law'. Can I write the word 'mother-in-law' as 'mother in law' or 'mother in-law'?
0
votes
0answers
20 views
How to hyphenate an adjective+noun+gerund adjective compound?
We're used to adjective compounds, such as:
a decision-making process
or
a cancer-causing lotion.
But what if I want to add an adjective to the noun?
For example:
a corporate decision-...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Why compound modifiers are not usually hyphenated when they come after the noun?
A lot of grammar references suggest that you hyphenate compound modifiers if they come before the noun but not after the noun. Here's an example:
The apartment is off campus.
VS
That ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
Job-Search Post: Commas, Hyphens
My friend has a translation business. He inquired if I could assist him for this: He posted on a job-search site to look for employees:
“We look for some more people**,** to take on-board…”
Does ...
2
votes
2answers
382 views
How do you write "wild blueberries flavored"?
How do you write "wild blueberries flavored"?
I am wondering if we need to add hyphens (-) and how many. So, for example, is it "wild-blueberries flavored" or "wild-blueberries-flavored" or something ...
1
vote
2answers
165 views
Can "non" be used as a separate word?
I used non trivial and a grammar correction website shows it is wrong and should be either non-trivial or nontrivial.
x appears in a non trivial number of pages
Or
x appears in a non-...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Solar and wind powered
How to correctly write "Solar and wind powered" in a sentence? Are hyphens required?
Possible options:
Solar and wind powered
Solar- and wind-powered
Solar and wind-powered
Solar and windpowered
9
votes
2answers
1k views
When do we add a hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?
When do we add a hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?
Here are a few examples:
This is an Xbox-compatible game.
This is a Creation-Kit-compatible 3d asset.
This is a SkyRe-compatible ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Is it "mid-air", "midair" or "mid air"
The bird feels the breeze all around it when it's in mid-air.
Is it "mid-air", "mid air" or "midair"? I have seen all three of them in various context, so I am not sure if all of them are valid.
2
votes
1answer
30 views
Why isn't "course selection advice" written as "course-selection advice"?
I thought the phrase needed an hyphen just like, say, class-centered methods. But Google proved me wrong.
Why is this? Maybe the hyphenated version and non-hypenated version are both valid?