She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in. Never use a hyphen in place of an en dash or an em dash. Hyphens 65 between words with compound verbs with compound adjectives with ly words. Hyphens are used at the ends of lines where a word has been split, to warn the reader that the word continues on the next line. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. The following list contains some of the most critical punctuation rules. Daily grammar lesson 421 mechanics punctuation hyphens. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book.
However, given that the hyphen is so easy to find on a keyboard, hyphens have become acceptable for ranges. To the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. When in doubt, crackclick open your dictionary of choice, look up. Hyphens between words quiz 1 the blue book of grammar. Use title case for proper nouns for example, names of people, places or organisations. They are different from dashes, which are used for parenthesis or to extend a sentence. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. What is true for books is that adverbs ending in ly are not hyphenated. For example, if the hyphen is omitted in a statement such as he is a little known man, the reader might interpret it as meaning he is a known man who is little. Usually, you can tell whether a hyphen is necessary by applying common sense and mentally excluding one of the words in question, testing how the words would work together without the hyphen. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. We have lots of examples that will help you finally understand hyphen rules.
Definitely the best way to learn and understand grammar religious words and terms associated with deities by grammar girl. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time years, months, weeks, days is written in plural form. In general where should i use an hyphen where i shouldnt. This is known as a suspensive hyphen or suspended hyphen. Learn the uses ofand differences betweendashes and hyphens. Writers also use them to add clarity never use interchangeably with dashes and never leave spaces around a hyphen. Learn when to use a hyphen and when you should skip it. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon. The position of question marks and exclamation points varies. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of hyphens and gives examples of hyphens used in sentences. If youre not sure whether a compound word has a hyphen or not, check your preferred dictionary.
Its not interchangeable with other types of dashes. For most writers, the hyphens primary function is the formation of certain compound terms. Hyphens are used in compound adjectives and compound nouns. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. If it appears after a noun the girl who is red haired, no hyphen is used. Hyphen meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. A hyphen is a short line with no spaces before or after it. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing grammar girl is genius. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Grammar at a glance i bet you thought grammar couldnt get any more quick and dirty than it did in the previous pages, but heres the quickest grammar of all, culled from lengthier explanations found elsewhere in this book. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. Use a hyphen when spelling out numbers between 21 and 99. If the adjectives come after the noun, then they dont need a hyphen. English writing lesson we often get confuse when it comes to the use of hypens while writing, may be emails.
Hi, i grew up learning american english, but where i. Hyphens are often used to tell the ages of people and things. They come before the noun or pronoun they modify except for the predicate adjective which comes after a linking verb and. Commas commas are used to separate parts of a sentence. The dash we typically use is technically called the em dash, and it is significantly longer than the hyphen. Dashes and hyphens are punctuation marks that serve distinct functions. If you want to learn english grammar or grow your vocabulary then these resources will help you with your studies.
Grammar girl xvii introduction xix 1grammar 1 finding subjects and verbs 1 finding verbs. Introduction the hyphen is one of the most underused, one of the most incorrectly used, and one of the most important punctuation marks in writing. Many of us get confused about when to hyphenate between words. Numbers and fractions hyphens may be used in numbers, including the spelledout numbers twentyone through ninetynine, phone numbers, and compound adjectives with numbers in them. I originally purchased this as simply and additional resource, especially because garner is the author of the grammar and usage chapter of cmos. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller. By the way, and i mentioned this in other answers referencing cms. Established in july 20 in a merger between penguin and random house, penguin random house, with nearly 250 independent imprints and brands on five continents, more than 15,000 new titles published each year, and close to 800 million print, audio, and ebooks sold annually, is. July 6september 17 the date range began on july 6 and ended on september 17. Hyphens english grammar today cambridge dictionary. There is also an en dashwhose length is between that of the hyphen and the em dash, and its best usage is to indicate inclusive dates and numbers. An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. Rowling, catch22 by joseph heller, the curious incident of the dog in the ni.
Hyphens punctuation rules the blue book of grammar. A twelveyearold girl was found alone in the large house. Merriamwebsters collegiate dictionary, the chicago manual of style cmos, and garners modern american usage. This handout will help you learn the uses of em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens. This entry was posted in tips and tricks tuesday and tagged grammar, hyphen, punctuation. Brand names, such as ipad, sometimes use camel case an internal capital letter. An essential for your marketing and writing career. Fifty shades of grammar the great grammar cheat sheet beyond worksheets the grammar diva blog weekly posts. Hyphens generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together while avoiding confusion or.
A subreddit for questions and discussions about grammar, language, style, conventions, and punctuation. How to use hyphens grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Misuse of hyphens and dashes can obscure a writers meaning, especially if a hyphen is used in place of a dash, or can make the writing look visually cluttered. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips. The hyphen is also used for word division, which is briefly explained here. Hyphens english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Grammar girls editing checklist quick and dirty tips. Capitalise the principal words only, to distinguish them from common nouns or the generic meaning.
Chapter 10 hyphen this article is about chapter 10 hyphen enjoy your reading. A common word with a hyphen such as postbox will also be seen as post box and postbox. A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. The write place 2010 revised by nichole held adapted from jane strauss.
Dont replace the second em dash as some tend to with a comma or semicolon. Use a hyphen in compounds made up of two or more words used as an adjective adjectives modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. Usage basic punctuation rules utah valley state college writing center correct punctuation is essential for clear and effective writing. Hyphens are the short lines that separate the words in the expressions nonenglish and exhusband when to use hyphens. Generally, hyphenate two or more words when they come before a noun they modify and act as a single idea.
Pdf lesson plans, teacher articles and a directory of teaching and reference resources. The chicago manual of styles online hyphenation table a delightful, 10page pdf grammar girls opinion regarding hyphen usage. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easyto use guide with clear rules, realworld examples. Book design basics use hyphens for justified type the worlds greatest book posted on august 2, 2014 by dave bricker august 3, 2014 h yphens are an important contributor to elegant, easytoread typography, especially when text is fully justified as is the convention in book typography. Its also important that when you set off a phrase using em dashes that you used one em dash immediately after the noun the phrase is describing and one immediately after the phrase. Why hyphens or lack of them mean your true blue friend is a smurf and you should not fear free dentistry. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. I still dont understand the rule on the hyphens in the english language. If you find yourself getting stumped on issues such as these issues. Compound terms are those that consist of more than one word but represent a single item or idea. They notify the reader that two or more elements in a sentence are linked. Hyphens between words quiz 1 from the blue book of grammar and punctuation. A hyphen is a punctuation mark thats used to join words or parts of words.
Use a hyphen in a compound modifier when the modifier comes before the word its modifying. Some technical or medical books use addicting where a typical writer would likely use. Correct me if im wrong the best grammar workbook ever. Only a very strict grammar pedant would pull you up for using hyphens. Aps rationale is that retaining the hyphen in compound modifiers after the noun helps avoid confusion. Answers to the 25 most common grammar, punctuation, and usage conundrums arlene miller the grammar diva author of the best little grammar book ever. Do not use a hyphen if the two words have separate meanings and do not stand as a single adjective. The associated press recommends a hyphen in african. If the word you need to split is clearly made up of two or more smaller words or elements, you should put the hyphen after the first of. We usually use a hyphen between the two words in a twopart adjective in which the second part ends in ed or ing. We use em dashes to add emphasis to the size of the car. A rule of thumb for the hyphen is that the resulting word must act as one unit. Find out whether you should be writing ebook or ebook. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards.