![]() |
A library featuring commonly committed errors of the English language. |
When two words act together as an adjective to modify a noun, a hyphen is often used to join them:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In the above cases, omitting the hyphen may cause minor confusion, but at other times, the meaning of the sentence can become totally unclear: ![]() If what you mean is that you saw a human eating tiger meat, then this is right; but if you mean to say you saw a tiger who eats humans, then “man-eating” should be hyphenated. Since I don’t know of any societies in which tiger meat is a delicacy, it can probably be safely assumed that this sentence refers to the latter, but this example shows how hyphens can greatly affect understanding. If the compound modifiers in the above sentences come after the noun they’re modifying, they don’t need to be hyphenated: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() But the sentences can also be written in different – sometimes better – ways by rearranging the words of the compound modifiers: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As explained below, there are exceptions to the rule of hyphenating compound modifiers. Exception 1: Don’t hyphenate if both elements of the compound modifier are nouns. ![]() ![]() These sentences are easily understood without hyphens. Exception 2: Don’t hyphenate if the first element of the compound modifier is an adverb ending in –ly. ![]() ![]() In the following case, “fast” serves as an adverb, but it’s not an adverb ending in –ly. Because “fast” can also act as an adjective in some cases, hyphenation is beneficial to understanding: ![]() Exception 3: Don’t hyphenate if the first element of the compound modifier is a comparative or superlative adjective. ![]() ![]() Exception 4: Don’t hyphenate if the second element of the compound modifier is just a letter. ![]() ![]() |