Which words should be hyphenated?

Generally, you need the hyphen only if the two words are functioning together as an adjective before the noun they’re describing. If the noun comes first, leave the hyphen out. This wall is load bearing. It’s impossible to eat this cake because it is rock hard.

What should you not hyphenate?

Never hyphenate compounds including an adverb (generally, a word ending in ‘ly’), whether attributive or predicative. ‘carefully laid plans’ not ‘carefully-laid plans’. ‘The acting, direction, script and plot were terrible, but at least the wardrobe was high quality.

Should easy to use be hyphenated?

The way to solve the word placement competition is to treat the phrase “easy to use” as a single word. The hyphens join the more tightly bound phrase.

Why are some words hyphenated?

Hyphens are used in many compound words to show that the component words have a combined meaning (e.g. 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.

How do you type a hyphen on a laptop?

For desktop PC: press “alt+ctrl+minus” on the numeric keypad (the number section on the far right of your keyboard). The trick will not work if you press the hyphen-key on the typewriter section of the keyboard.

Should the second word in a hyphenated word be capitalized?

Capitalize only the first element of a hyphenated word unless any subsequent element is a proper noun or adjective. If the first element is merely a prefix or combining form that could not stand by itself as a word (anti, pre, etc.), do not capitalize the second element unless it is a proper noun or proper adjective.

How do you hyphenate three words?

Trigrams are sets of three words that are hyphenated. When you use three words together as a single thought describing or modifying a noun and you put them before the noun, you should hyphenate them: It was a matter-of-fact decision.

What are some examples of hyphenated words?

Full Answer. Over-the-counter, one-half and merry-go-round are examples of hyphenated compound words. Modifying compound words placed before nouns are typically hyphenated for clarity. However, compound words that are placed after nouns are open compounds. Examples are “part-time teacher” and “a teacher that works part time.”.

What are the rules for Hyphen?

The main difference between the hyphen and the dash, is that the hyphen is shorter than the dash. The use of hyphens is known as hyphenation. One of the basic rules is to not place spaces between a hyphen and either of the words it connects, except, when you are using a suspended hyphen.

Where to hyphenate words?

Use hyphens for lists of compound words with a common base. In cases where a sentence calls for a list of hyphenated words or numbers that share a common word, it’s usually OK to write the word only for the last item in the list. For the other items in the list, write the word or number followed by a hyphen.

How do you spell hyphenated?

hyphenate – divide or connect with a hyphen; “hyphenate these words and names”. hyphen. spell, write – write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word); “He spelled the word wrong in this letter”.