{"id":2371,"date":"2014-01-17T11:45:50","date_gmt":"2014-01-17T16:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.constant-content.com\/blog\/?p=2371"},"modified":"2022-05-09T14:46:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T21:46:59","slug":"compound-modifiers-the-easy-to-use-hyphen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constant-content.com\/content-writing-service\/2014\/01\/compound-modifiers-the-easy-to-use-hyphen\/","title":{"rendered":"Compound Modifiers: The Easy-To-Use Hyphen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hyphens are a form of punctuation that the editors<\/a> have seen being used incorrectly (or not at all) quite a bit lately. While they are not employed very often, hyphens are still important for clarity. Here are the most common rules for wielding the hyphen:<\/p>\n

Compound Adjectives<\/span><\/h2>\n

Hyphens<\/a> are often needed for compound adjectives. A compound adjective is two or more words that join together to modify a noun. One of the most common hyphen problems in submitted articles is the lack of a hyphen for compound modifiers. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Friendship is a two-way street.<\/em><\/p>\n

Brad Pitt is a well-known actor.<\/em><\/p>\n

If the modifier comes sometime after the noun, a hyphen is not needed.<\/p>\n

Friendship goes two ways<\/em><\/p>\n

Brad Pitt is well known.<\/em><\/p>\n

Large Numbers<\/span><\/h2>\n

When writing out large numbers, you will sometimes need a hyphen. We generally don’t require you to write out large numbers; we just let you use numerals. However, this is helpful to know if a buyer has a specific request in mind.<\/p>\n

I have forty-seven coconuts.<\/em><\/p>\n

I used to possess eighty-nine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prefixes<\/span><\/h2>\n

Certain prefixes (ex-, mid-, re-) require hyphens. These rules are probably the most difficult to remember. English is an ever-evolving language, so if you are not sure about something, look it up in a dictionary or style guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jon Bon Jovi had massive hair in the mid-1980s.<\/em><\/p>\n

My ex-girlfriend was a puppeteer.<\/em><\/p>\n

I re-read the book.<\/em><\/p>\n

Senator McCarthy accused the man of being anti-American.<\/em><\/p>\n

(\u201canti-American\u201d needs a hyphen because \u201cAmerican\u201d is capitalized)<\/p>\n

Age<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the most common mistakes is not using a hyphen when writing out the age of something. Age is often considered a compound modifier.<\/p>\n

Her six-year-old son loves blueberry ice cream.<\/em><\/p>\n

You do not need hyphens if the adjective phrase comes after the noun.<\/p>\n

Julia Roberts is 46 years old.<\/em><\/p>\n

Suspended Hyphens.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Suspended hyphens didn’t get into trouble in college! Actually, you can employ suspended hyphens to save space. Sometimes, you’ll have cases where all compound modifiers end with the same word. Rather than writing out everything, you can do something like this:<\/p>\n

The 11- and 12-year students are at the assembly.<\/em><\/p>\n

I memorized the first-, second-, and third-order equations.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hyphens aren’t used as often as other forms of punctuation, but they can boost the clarity of a piece. Use these tips to improve and expand your writing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hyphens are a form of punctuation that the editors have seen being used incorrectly (or not at all) quite a bit lately. While they are not employed very often, hyphens are still important for clarity. Here are the most common rules for wielding the hyphen:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[633,250],"tags":[138,155,136],"yoast_head":"\nCompound Modifiers: The Easy-To-Use Hyphen - Constant Content<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constant-content.com\/content-writing-service\/2014\/01\/compound-modifiers-the-easy-to-use-hyphen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Compound Modifiers: The Easy-To-Use Hyphen - Constant Content\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hyphens are a form of punctuation that the editors have seen being used incorrectly (or not at all) quite a bit lately. While they are not employed very often, hyphens are still important for clarity. 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