40|Hyphens

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The hyphen is used to join words and to connect parts of words.

40aUse hyphens in compound words that require them.

Compound words in the English language take three forms:

Compounds fall into these categories more by custom than by rule. When you’re not sure which way to write a compound, refer to a current collegiate dictionary. If the compound isn’t listed, write it as two words.

Use a hyphen in a compound word containing one or more elements beginning with a capital letter.

Bill says that, as a neo-Marxist living in an A-frame house, it would be politically incorrect for him to wear a Mickey Mouse T-shirt.

Exceptions to this rule include unchristian, for one.

40bUse a hyphen in a compound adjective preceding, but not following, a noun.

Jerome, a devotee of twentieth-century music, has no interest in the classic symphonies of the eighteenth century.

I’d like living in an out-of-the-way place better if it weren’t so far out of the way.

In a series of hyphenated adjectives with the same second word, you can omit that word (but not the hyphen) in all but the last adjective of the series.

Julia is a lover of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century music.

The adverb well, when coupled with an adjective, follows the same hyphenation rules as if it were an adjective.

It is well known that Tony has a well-equipped kitchen, although his is not as well equipped as the hotel’s.

Do not use a hyphen to link an adverb ending in -ly with an adjective.

The sun hung like a newly minted penny in a freshly washed sky.

40cUse a hyphen after the prefixes all-, ex-, and self- and before the suffix -elect.

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Lucille’s ex-husband is studying self-hypnosis.

This all-important debate pits Senator Browning against the president-elect.

40dUse a hyphen in most cases if an added prefix or suffix creates a double vowel, a triple consonant, or an ambiguous pronunciation.

It is also acceptable to omit the hyphen in the case of a double e: reeducate.

The contractor’s pre-estimate did not cover any pre-existing flaws.

The recreation department favors the re-creation of a summer program.

40eUse a hyphen in spelled-out fractions and compound whole numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.

When her sister gave Leslie’s age as six and three-quarters, Leslie corrected her: “I’m six and five-sixths!”

The fifth graders learned that forty-four rounds down to forty while forty-five rounds up to fifty.

40fUse a hyphen to indicate inclusive numbers.

The section covering the years 1975-1980 is found on pages 20-27.

40gUse a hyphen to break a word between syllables at the end of a line.

Academic style guides (such as MLA and APA) prefer that you turn off your word processor’s automatic hyphenation. If you’re designing a text that requires breaking a word, check your dictionary for its syllable divisions.