Hyphens!

UWF Writing LaboratoryMini-Lesson #67

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Which two words in the above sentence should be combined with a hyphen?

I am giving you a sign up sheet to distribute so that students interested in

attending the play can sign up and reserve a seat.

Which two words in the above sentence should be combined with a hyphen?

RIGHT!“sign” and “up”

Without the hyphen, the reader may be momentarily derailed. The sentence seems to read as follows:

I am giving you a sign….

I am giving you a sign up sheet to distribute so that students interested in

attending the play can sign up and reserve a seat.

1. To separate the parts of a compound modifier or multiword adjective when the modifier/ adjective precedes the word that it modifies (e.g. “When he is out of town, he uses out-of-town checks.”);

2. To separate compounds of equal weight (e.g. male-female relationships);

The hyphen is most commonly used to separate a word that is divided by the

right hand margin, but a hyphen also has the following conventional uses:

3. To set off prefixes of words beginning with the prefixes well-, all-, self-, and ex- (e.g. “all-purpose,” “ex-wife,” “well-informed,” and “self-centered”);

4. To set off some compound nouns (e.g. “mother-in-law”) or to set off prefixes before a proper noun or adjective (e.g. “all-American”);

5. To separate numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and fractions such as two-thirds.

Exceptions1. Do not hyphenate words that begin with

the prefixes pre-, un-, re-, inter-, non-, multi-, bi-, semi-, up-, over-, and intra (e.g. “preschool,” “rearrange,” “overworked,” “intercollegiate,” “multicultural,” “bipartisan,” nonviolent, bipartisan, and “semisweet”).

2. Occasionally, hyphens are used to avoid confusion (e.g. “re-solve” instead of “resolve”). Consult a dictionary when you’re in doubt.

Practice!Air traffic was so dense that afternoon that air

traffic control could hardly cope. Air traffic was so dense that afternoon that

air-traffic control could hardly cope.

Nancy’s exhusband is an antifeminist.Nancy’s ex-husband is an antifeminist.

My mother in law works for a quasi official corporation that does two thirds of its business

with the government.

My mother-in-law works for a quasi-official corporation that does two-thirds of its business

with the government.

Remember to differentiate between a hyphen and a dash.

HYPHEN (to separate words)-

DASH (to separate sentences)--