Languages & Life Lessons

 

Hyphens - Part Four

When two or more words are combined together make one modifier (or adjective) placed before a noun, a hyphen must be used between the words to connect them.
Example:
Her one-month-old baby waves at her.
My not-so-handsome brother married a fashion model.

Since in English adjectives don't become plural, the compound modifier will always remain singular.
Example:
1) We saw twelve-foot waves in the ocean.
2) The waves we saw were at least twelve feet high.

Note that in the first sentence (1) you don't say twelve-feet waves even though twelve is more than one and requires a plural noun after it. In the second sentence (2), however, twelve feet is correct because it comes after the noun. 

This is particularly important because many compound modifiers begin with a number. Whether the number is spelled out or in numerals and whether it is cardinal or ordinal, this rule always applies: the noun in the compound remains singular and the compound is hyphenated.
Example:
Her six-month-old baby waves at her.
I've read many nineteenth-century works. 
I've read many 19th-century works.
She's doing her 3-day diet.

Hyphens - Part Three

Many words are compound and hyphenated in English:

one-on-one
long-term
self-esteem
well-being
six-pack
all-inclusive
four-legged
father-in-law
off-road
post-traumatic
cross-country
high-quality

Some of these words lose their hyphen after a while:
e-mail 〰 email
note-book 〰 notebook
data-base 〰 database
multi-task 〰 multitask
mega-byte 〰 megabyte

Numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine are spelled with a hyphen:
twenty-nine
fifty-five
eighty-six

Two-word simple fractions are also spelled with a hyphen.
Example:
She has finished two-thirds of the book.

Hyphens - Part Two

When we construct a compound modifier with a noun, an adverb that doesn’t end in -ly, or an adjective and a present participle (the –ing form of a verb) before a word to modify it, we need to use a hyphen in our compound modifier.

Example:
1) We often use fast-acting medications in emergencies.
2) The medications we often use in emergencies are fast acting.

Note that in the first sentence (1), fast-acting is used before medications and therefore has a hyphen, but in the second sentence (2) fast acting doesn't have a hyphen because it comes after medications, which is the noun it describes.

When we construct a compound modifier with a noun, an adverb that doesn’t end in -ly, or an adjective and a past participle before a word to modify it, we need to use a hyphen in our compound modifier.

Example:
1) The well-known writer signs her books at the library tonight.
2) The writer who signs her books at the library tonight is well known.

Note that in the first sentence (1), well-known is used before writer and therefore has a hyphen, but in the second sentence (2) well known doesn't have a hyphen because it comes after writer, which is the noun it describes. 

Hyphens - Part One

A hyphen is a punctuation mark that is used to join words or parts of words. 
A hyphen is a short horizontal line: -

It is not the same as a dash and cannot be interchanged with any of the various dashes.
It shorter than both the m-dash, which is the length of the letter m, and the n-dash, which is the length of the letter n.

Hyphens are usually used in compound modifiers when the compound modifier comes before the word it’s modifying.

Here are a few examples of compound modifiers joined with hyphens:

mind-boggling
heart-warming
soul-stirring
sleep-deprived
fun-loving
rain-soaked
sun-kissed
life-changing
heart-breaking
eye-opening

These modifiers are joined only when they come before the word they describe.
Example:
1) I had an eye-opening experience.
2) My experience was eye opening.
In the first sentence, (1), the modifier, eye-opening, comes before experience, the noun it modifies; therefore, a hyphen joins the two words.
In the second sentence, (2), the modifier, eye opening, comes after experience, the noun it modifies; therefore, no hyphen is used.

Victoria Ichizli-Bartels

Every project, however tiny, if given enough attention and peeled off worries, has the ability to bring inspiration and eagerness to do more, to create more.”

Victoria Ichizli-Bartels

Anthology Update

Many thanks to the writers who submitted their pieces to me for the anthology. I have a total of 36 submissions by 32 contributors. I will send out email messages to each person by the 20th of June and hope to publish the anthology in July. Submissions are now closed, but I can still accept short quotes / haikus until the end of June via email or Twitter DM.