Hyphens: A Brief Tutorial

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate: that is the question.

If I had to choose the activity that recurs most frequently when editing it would be hyphen patrol. Is this one word or two? Is there a hyphen between them or not? Is this an adjectival phrase that modifies a noun, therefore warranting hyphenation?

While it’s my job to get into the weeds on these grammar conundrums, here are a few quick tips to help writers who want to slay hyphen dragons.

Compound Words

Compound words consist of two or more words that combine to form one word or phrase that acts as one word. There are three types of compound words:

·        Open compound words (high school, ice cream, hot dogs)

·        Closed compound words (babysit, firefighter, bedroom)

·        Hyphenated compound words (long-term, runner-up, well-being)

When it comes to compound words, your best friend is the dictionary. I use the free merriam-webster.com website because compound words have an annoying habit of metamorphizing over time. Witness the life cycle (or is it lifecycle? Nope—it’s life cycle) of the word now known as “online,” which went from on line to on-line to its current iteration of online. 

Prefixes and Suffixes

Modern style has us shoving more words together than ever. Consider the following:

·        autocorrect

·        coconspirator

·        presorted

·        motherless

·        reddish

Not having to worry about a hyphen is nice, but what if the lack of a hyphen causes confusion? Take the words recreate or reformation.

When we enjoy recreation, we recreate. But to build something anew, we re-create it.

A prisoner may be reformed, but clay on a potting wheel might be re-formed.  

Don’t be afraid to shuttle convention if the readability or meaning of a word suffers without a hyphen.

Adjectival Phrases Modifying a Noun

Don’t be afraid of the term “adjectival phrases.” It just means when a group of words come together to modify a noun (and precedes it), then we use hyphens. Like this:

·        A five-year-old boy

·        A third-floor apartment

·        A blue-green dress

But:

·        The boy is seven years old.

·        The apartment is on the third floor.

·        The dress is blue green.

Careful, though: adverbs are frequently hyphen-averse. A mildly amusing movie and a highly paid actor do not take hyphens.   

A great resource for all things hyphen is The Chicago Manual of Style’s hyphenation guide at section 7.89 (in the seventeenth edition—a new CMOS is due in fall 2024).

If all these rules are too much and you can’t tell if your 250-page book is hyphen friendly, don’t worry. Your highly skilled, forty-six-year-old editor has your back and won’t let any hyphens—or lack thereof—ruin the meaning of your words.