Hyphens for Compound Words and Prefixes
Use hyphens to avoid ambiguity in compound modifiers and prefixed words, distinguishing between meanings that change based on hyphen placement
What a learner can do afterwards
- Distinguish between 'man eating shark' and 'man-eating shark' by adding or removing hyphens
- Use hyphens with prefixes to clarify meaning such as 'recover' versus 're-cover'
- Apply hyphens correctly in compound adjectives before nouns such as 'well-known author'
1 · Read
A noun names a person, place or thing. Describing words tell us more about it. A hyphen is the short line in 'well-known'. It can join words that work together to describe a noun. This is a compound modifier. Many take hyphens before a noun: 'a well-known painter', 'a fast-moving river', 'a blue-eyed rabbit' and 'a kind-hearted neighbour'. Separate descriptions stay apart, as in 'a large green leaf'.
'A man eating shark' describes a man eating shark meat. 'A man-eating shark' describes a shark that eats people. 'A small-business owner' owns a small business; without the hyphen, small might be read as describing the owner. 'A little-used path' is rarely used; without the hyphen, little might describe the path's size.
A prefix goes at the start of a word. The prefix re- can mean again. A hyphen can make that meaning clear. Recover can mean to get better or get something back. To make 'cover again' clear, use re-cover with a hyphen. Someone might recover after an illness, recover a missing object, or re-cover a cushion with new cloth.
Before a noun, join the parts of an age or measurement and use a singular unit: 'a seven-year-old child', 'a three-metre-long plank'. After the noun, use spaces and a plural unit when the number is greater than one: 'the child is seven years old', 'the plank is three metres long'. Also write 'an up-to-date timetable', but 'the timetable is up to date'.
Resign means to leave a job; re-sign means to sign again. A coach might resign from a team, while a musician might re-sign a contract. Reform means to change something to improve it, such as reforming school rules. Re-form means to form again, such as a band re-forming after a break. Choose the spelling that fits the meaning.
Some compounds change after the noun: 'a well-known painter', but 'the painter is well known'. Follow that pattern for well known here. Others keep their hyphen: 'the style is old-fashioned'. Check a dictionary if you are unsure. Do not put a hyphen between an adverb ending in -ly and the word it describes: 'a neatly folded towel'. Neatly tells how the towel was folded.
Hyphens join parts within words or compound descriptions. They do not separate two complete sentences. 'The rain stopped' and 'We went out' each give a whole thought. Write 'The rain stopped. We went out.' with a full stop between the sentences, not a hyphen.
A hyphen joins words into one idea, so where you put it, or whether you use one at all, can completely change what a sentence means.
Original hyphen teaching and practice material written for this dataset.
Checking a hyphen decision is an original reading written for this dataset.
More to read
Checking a hyphen decision
Read the noun first. In a slow-moving queue, queue names the thing. Slow and moving describe it together. Join those two parts, but leave the noun separate. In a large yellow envelope, large and yellow give separate descriptions. A hyphen does not belong between them.
Measurements have a useful pattern. A fence that is four metres high can be called a four-metre-high fence. Before fence, the unit metre is singular and the description has hyphens. After fence, write four metres high with spaces.
Some compounds need their own spelling check. Well-known loses its hyphen in the lesson's pattern the writer is well known. Old-fashioned keeps its hyphen in the style is old-fashioned. If you are unsure about another compound, check a dictionary rather than applying one rule to every word.
The same letters can also carry different meanings. A person who resigns leaves a job. A person who re-signs signs again. Recover can mean getting better or getting something back. Re-cover describes covering something again.
Finally, look at what the line separates. A hyphen belongs within a word or compound description. It cannot take the place of a full stop between complete sentences.
2 · Watch
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