Hyphenated Adjectives

Several of our newsletter subscribers have written to ask us to address the use of
hyphens like the ones in the following six sentences. Can you tell which sentences
correctly employ the hyphen?
1. The injured boy is five-years-of-age.
2. The five-year-old boy was injured.
3. The injured man is twenty-five years old.
4. I hope you can come up with an easy-to-remember rule to help me know when
to use the hyphen.
5. I hope you can come up with a rule that is easy-to-remember.
6. The four-year-old ran to the bramble-covered fence rail, where she charmed a
tough, too-tall-to-tango hombre.
Hyphens are used correctly in sentences 2, 3, 4, and 6.
The hyphens are unnecessary in sentence 1 because the phrase five years of age
is not being used as a single adjective.
In sentence 2, however, the phrase five-year-old is being used as a single
descriptor for the noun boy. Not one of the words in that phrase would work
alone; that is, he is not a five boy, a year boy, or an old boy. We have to pull
all those words together to form a single adjective.
The hyphen in sentence 3 is correct because we always use a hyphen in compound
numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine.
(NOTE: Although other style manuals differ, the Chicago Manual of Style advises
us to spell out numbers that can be written in three words or fewer. Thus, we have
spelled out twenty-five rather than using the numeral 25. Numerals are to be
used, however, in reference to page numbers, section numbers, item numbers, and
the like, such as when we refer to sentence 2, above.)
The difference between sentences 4 and 5 is similar to the difference between
sentences 1 and 2: In sentence 4, easy-to-remember is being used as a single

descriptor in front of the noun rule. In sentence 5, however, the description easy
to remember follows the noun and should not be hyphenated.
Sentence 6 correctly hyphenates four-year-old because that phrase modifies the
elliptical noun boy. That is, although we do not see the word boy in the
sentence, it is nonetheless part of the construction. Thus, four-year-old is
hyphenated as a multiword, single descriptor preceding a noun.
The descriptions too-tall-to-tango and bramble-covered are also correctly
hyphenated in sentence 6 because they precede the nouns they modify. Notice that
we did not include the word tough in the hyphenated phrase too-tall-to-tango
because it is a separate adjective. Too-tall-to-tango consists of four words but
functions as a single descriptor.
Keep in mind, though, that we never use a hyphen between an -ly adverb +
adjective combination in front of a noun or pronoun. Here are examples with the
-ly adverb + adjective constructions:
She was a highly motivated employee.
Some of the most critically acclaimed films of the year were not honored at the
Academy Awards ceremony.
The person who just boarded our bus is a nationally knownscientist.
Sometimes we must use a hanging hyphen to indicate that we have two hyphenated
adjectives preceding a noun:
The course covered nineteeth- and twentieth-century literature.
Two final points about using the hyphen:
First, we never put a space before or after one (except, as we just pointed out, in
the case of a hanging hyphen). Second, we cannot use a slash in place of a hyphen.
Slashes indicate an either/or relationship between a pair of words, while the
hyphen suggests a connection between the two words. We could write about the
value of parent-child interaction but not of parent/child interaction. The slash
in the latter renders the meaning parent OR child and would be illogical in this
context.

Hyphens are widely misused by writers, but this tip covers only one kind of
hyphen-related usage problem. We will deal with other hyphen issues (as well as
with en dashes and em dashes) in future tips.
TEST YOURSELF: Where do we need hyphens in the following sentences? Some
sentences may be correct.
1. Schools are often categorized according to the number of free and reduced lunch
students enrolled.
2. Highly motivated working parents find enriching after school programs for their
children.
3. Fred was applauded for his behind the scenes efforts to raise the capital
necessary to launch the company.
4. Our long range plan included several company specific marketing strategies.
5. Home based educational services are provided to children on a case by case
basis.
6. The play was well-rehearsed by a troupe of extremely-professional actors.
ANSWERS
1. Schools are often categorized according to the number of free- and reducedlunch students enrolled.
2. Highly motivated working parents find enriching after-school programs for their
children.
3. Fred was applauded for his behind-the-scenes efforts to raise the capital
necessary to launch the company.
4. Our long-range plan included several company-specific marketing strategies.
5. Home-based educational services are provided to children on a case-by-case
basis.
6. The play was well-rehearsed by a troupe of extremely professional actors.
[Hyphen was deleted after "extremely."]

HOW TO USE HYPHEN

The other day on Twitter, I wrote that I was using my noise-canceling headphones because the
wind was so loud.
In response, Jessica Saint Jean asked if a hyphen should go between noise and canceling.
A hyphen would be OK there, because noise and canceling are acting as a compound
modifier, modifying headphones.
Notice how I said it would be OK, and I didnt use any strong words like must hyphenate or
should hyphenate? Although there are a few hard-and-fast rules for using hyphens, there are
just too many exceptions to call everything relating to hyphens a rule.

What Is a Hyphen?
Hyphens are a look-it-up punctuation mark. Though hyphens have several uses, were going to
focus on how to use hyphens with compound adjectives. Compound adjectives are two or more
words that together make an adjective. When they come directly before a noun, theyre known as
compound modifiers and usually have a hyphen, like noise-canceling headphones. Here are a
few more examples:

They had a long-term relationship.

The fire-proof vest proved to be a great life saver for Santa Claus.
If the adjectives come after the noun, then they dont need a hyphen. For example

Their relationship was long term.

Santas new vest is fire proof.

Hyphens Can Change Meaning

Sometimes, the placement of a hyphen changes the meaning of your sentence. Lets say you want
a hot-water bottle. With a hyphen between hot and water you clearly want a water bottle for
holding hot water because hot and water are joined by a hyphen. Without the hyphen
between hot and water, you might want a water bottle that is hot. See how the presence or
absence of a hyphen could change the meaning?
The reason I didnt say that I absolutely should have hyphenated noise canceling headphones is
that if leaving out the hyphen causes no ambiguity, some style guides, such as the Chicago
Manual of Style, say its OK to leave it out; and I dont think anyone would read my meaning
differently with or without a hyphen.
In the hot water bottle example, the difference is pretty subtle too. You probably dont need the
hyphen, but its not wrong to use it either because someone probably could be confused.
The more likelihood there is for confusion, the more you need a hyphen.

The Grammar Monkeys account on Twitter, run by the editors of The Wichita Eagle, often tweets
examples of sentences they see where a missing hyphen makes a big and funny difference. Many
of these are things they actually saw in news stories. Two of their recent Why we need a hyphen
examples were as follows:

Prefixes and Hyphens

Some prefixes need hyphens, such as re, mid, and ex. For example

My ex-boyfriend took the movies I enjoyed.

The mid-1990s were interesting.

Santa needed to re-read the Naughty or Nice list.

Using Hyphens with Ages

Several readers comments from a previous episode about hyphens had to do with numerals,
including ages.
Theres a general rule: if the ages are being used as adjectives or nouns, use hyphens.

The five-year-old boy wanted the red balloon. (Five-year-old is hyphenated because its
an adjective that modifies the noun boy.)

Rudolph is a two-year-old reindeer. (Two-year-old is hyphenated because its an

adjective that modifies the noun reindeer.)
You can also use hyphens with implied nouns. For example, since you already know Rudolph is a
reindeer, you could say Rudolph is a two-year-old. The hyphenated phrase two-year-old is
essentially modifying the noun you left out: reindeer. You can also think of "two-year-old" as a
noun--and nouns are usually hyphenated.
However, if the age comes after the noun (or after a noun and a verb, such as "Rudolph is"
below), then it doesnt need a hyphen because it isn't directly modifying the noun.

Rudolph is two years old.

Our pug is 12 years old.

Words or Numerals with

Hyphens?
Many readers had questions about whether you write out numbers or use numerals with
hyphens. Its a style choice, so the best advice is to pick a style guide and stick to it. The
Associated Press recommends using words for all numbers less than 10, and the Chicago Manual
of Style recommends using words for all numbers less than 100, and their recommendations are
no different when youre using hyphens.

Therefore, if youre using AP style, youd write that Santa used a 15-foot sleigh (using the numeral
15), and if youre using Chicago style, youd write that Santa used a fifteen-foot sleigh, (writing
out the word fifteen). Either way, youd put a hyphen between fifteen and foot because its a
compound modifier.

Other Uses for Hyphens

You also use hyphens

with prefixes that come before a word that needs a capital letter, like anti-American

when separating words with the same three letters in a row, such as fall-like

when writing numbers twenty-one through ninety-nine, such as

o
o
o

thirty-eight*
ninety-nine
twenty-five
when joining letters and words, like X-ray and A-frame

Suspended Hyphens
You can also suspend hyphens. No, it doesnt mean they got in trouble at grammar school, it
means that to save space, you can suspend hyphens when youre listing several words describing
the same noun. How do you suspend them? Lets say Santa found a fire-proof, dog-proof, and
soot-proof vest online. You dont need to write the full compound adjective each time, since each
one is modifying the same noun, vest. Instead of writing proof each time, youll list them,
each with only the first part of the compound, followed by a hyphen and then a comma. So if you
were suspending hyphens when listing what type of vest Santa was planning on buying, youd
write that he purchased "the fire-, dog-, and soot-proof vest online."
If the rules arent confusing enough already, there are a few things that you should avoid or not
do when using hyphens.

Stacked Modifiers
Although its OK to use hyphens with two or three adjectives to describe a noun, you shouldnt
overdo it. Using too many modifiers before a noun can complicate your sentence. Lets look at a
good example, followed by a not-so-good one:

The forty-year-old man looked like Santa Claus. (Good)

The uses-too-many-silly-hyphens-for-added-effect woman was Mrs. Claus! (Excessive)

Although the above example about Mrs. Claus would be OK on the rare occasion, as a general
rule, when youre being serious, you may want to consider three hyphenated modifiers before a
noun as the limit.

Hyphens and Adverbs

Although its OK to use hyphens with adjectives, hyphens and adverbs dont get along as well.
You shouldnt use hyphens with adverbs such as happily and individually. For example, you
dont put hyphens in phrases such as happily married man and individually wrapped cheese.

Summary
The quick and dirty tip for using hyphens is to check a dictionary or style guide. If you don't have
one handy, follow the rule that you hyphenate compound modifiers when they come before a
noun, and don't hyphenate them when they come after a noun.

Web Bonus
A few years ago, the Associated Press removed the hyphen from e-mail but left the hyphen in
e-commerce and e-business. You can see why hyphen rules are confusing! Over time, words
can become open compounds, closed compounds, or even hyphenated compounds.
Coffeehouse is a great example. Ive seen it spelled three different ways: coffeehouse, coffee
house, and coffee-house.
Thanks to Ashley Dodge for editorial assistance with this article.
*The original article listed "one-hundred" as an example, which is incorrect. "One hundred" does
not take a hyphen.
- See more at: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-use-a-hyphen?
page=all#sthash.3KRv3JQq.dpuf

HOW TO USE HYPHEN

Use a hyphen (or hyphens) to link the words in a compound adjective. (A compound
adjective is a single adjective that is made up of more than one word.) For example:

two-seater aircraft
never-to-be-forgotten experience

What Is a Compound Adjective?

A single adjective made up of two or more words is called a compound adjective. The
words in a compound adjective can be linked together by a hyphen (or hyphens) to
show they are part of the same adjective.
In the UK, your readers will expect you to use hyphens in compound adjectives.
In the US, your readers will be more lenient. The US ruling is: Use a hyphen if it
eliminates ambiguity or helps your reader, else don't bother. If you're unsure, use
hyphens. You won't be marked down for using hyphens.

The Hyphen Might Be Essential

Sometimes, a hyphen is essential to avoid ambiguity. Look at these examples:

a heavy-metal detector
a heavy metal detector
Both are correct, but they mean different things. The first device detects heavy
metals. The second device detects metal, and the device is heavy. If we're talking
about a device that detects heavy metals, then putting heavy metal detector would
be wrong in the UK and the US.

Compound Adjectives with Numbers

The easiest compound adjectives to spot are the ones that include numbers. For
example:

Two-seater aircraft

4-bedroom house

"24-hour" (This is correct.)

(newspaper article)

"3-day" (This is correct)

(newspaper article)

Three stone weakling

(Three-stone would be better.)
15-page document

Compound Adjectives Without Numbers

Lots of compound adjectives do not include numbers. For example:

Philip is a far-too-chatty individual.

That was a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

James is a second rate plumber.

should be "8-week money-back guarantee"

(newspaper advertisement)

"Cambridge-based" and "high-speed" (both correct)

(magazine article)

Be aware that, quite often, a compound adjective consists of words that would not
normally be joined together with a hyphen. For example:

The double glazing is still leaking. Can you call that doubleglazingsalesman?
(The words double glazing only need a hyphen when they are functioning as an
adjective. In this example, the first time they are used, they are not an adjective.
The second time they are used, they are an adjective describing salesman.)

You call this silver service? She's not a trained silver-service waitress.
(The second time they are used, the words silver service describe waitress. As they
are a compound adjective, they are linked with a hyphen to show they are a single
adjective.)
WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?
An adjective is a describing word (e.g., red, big, beautiful, contagious).
Read more about adjectives.
WHAT IS A COMPOUND ADJECTIVE?
A single adjective made up of two or more words is called a compound adjective. The
words in a compound adjective are linked together by a hyphen (or hyphens) to show
that they are part of the same adjective. For example (compound adjectives shaded):

three-page document
ironing-board cover
Read more about compound adjectives.
MORE THAN ONE ADJECTIVE OR A COMPOUND ADJECTIVE?
Do not be tempted to string all adjectives together with hyphens. It is common to

use more than one adjective to describe something. When you use 2 or more
adjectives to describe one thing, it is calledenumeration of adjectives. For example:

A big maroon car

(This is 2 adjectives: big and maroon.)

She is an intelligent articulate lady.

(This is 2 adjectives: intelligent andarticulate.)
ADVERBS WITH ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are often preceded by adverbs(e.g., very, well, beautifully, extremely).
Usually, there is no need to link an adverb to an adjective using a hyphen. For
example:

Young Paula is a very talented student.

(As very is an adverb, it should not be linked to the adjective talented with a
hyphen.)
Linking an adverb like very, most, or least to an adjective with a hyphen is an
uncommon error. However, when an adverb ends in -ly(and lots do), some writers
feel the urge to link it to the adjective with a hyphen. There is no need.

It is a wonderfully-decorated tree.
(The adverb wonderfully modifies the adjective decorated, but there is no need to
join the two with a hyphen.)
However, with words like well, fast, and best(which are both adjectives and adverbs),
a hyphen can be used to avoid ambiguity.

Alan is the best-known player on the pitch.

(In this example, Alan is known better than any other player.)

Alan is the best known player on the pitch.

(This example could be taken to mean the same as the one above or it could be
taken to mean that Alan is the best player of all the known players on the pitch.
The hyphen eliminates ambiguity.)
HOW TO SPOT A COMPOUND ADJECTIVE
Put and between the adjectives. If there is no loss of meaning, then you are very
likely to be dealing with several adjectives, as opposed to a compound adjective.
step 1 large proud rooster
step 2 large and proud rooster
Although different in style, there is no loss of meaning. This is an example of two
adjectives. Therefore, no hyphen is required.
step 1 free range rooster
step 2 free and range rooster

In this example, there is a change in meaning. The rooster is not free and what is
a range rooster? This is a compound adjective and should be written as free-range
rooster.
step 1 first aid post
step 2 first and aid post
Although aid post is okay, there is a change in meaning with first post. This should
be written as first-aid post

SOURCE: http://www.grammarmonster.com/lessons/hyphens_in_compound_adje
ctives.htm

Compound Adjectives English Grammar

A compound adjective is sometimes called a hyphenated adjective. What are they?
Let's look at the following sentences:

I saw a man-eating alligator.

I saw a man eating alligator.

The first sentence contains a compound adjective.

The second sentence doesn't.
However the meaning of the two sentences are very different as can be seen in the picture
below:

I saw a man-eating alligator.

We are describing the alligator. What type of alligator is it? It is one that eats men (or people).
I saw a man eating alligator.
This sentence without the hyphen sounds like a man is eating an alligator.
(man is the subject, eating is the verb, alligator is the object or thing that is being eaten).
As you can see, the hyphen (or lack of it) makes a big difference in the meaning of the sentence.
Before we explain in more detail why we put that hyphen between those two words in the first
sentence, we need to do a quick review of Adjectives.

What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word that describes something.
A red car (red is an adjective because it describes the car. How is the car? Red)
A big book (big is an adjective because it describes the book. How is the book? Big)

See our other grammar notes about Adjectives in English. (LINK)

But sometimes we use more than one adjective to describe something.

Compound adjectives
A compound adjective is an adjective that contains two or more words.
In general we put a hyphen between two or more words (before a noun) when we want them to
act as a single idea (adjective) that describes something.

I live in an English-speaking country.

English-speaking is an adjective (used to describe the country). We use a hyphen to connect the
word English withspeaking to show that it is one adjective (or one idea).
This adjective with two words joined by the hyphen is called a compound adjective.
Some more examples of compound adjectives are:

Our office is in a twenty-storey building.

I have just finished reading a 300-page book.

He is a well-known writer.

There are many types of Compound Adjectives. Here is a list of the most common types:

Compound Adjectives + Periods of Time

When he have compound adjectives using numbers + a time period, that word referring to a time
period is in singular form and is joined to the number with a hyphen.

I work eight hours every day --> I work an eight-hour day

I'm going on vacation for three weeks --> I have a three-week vacation

There was a delay of 5 seconds --> There was a five-second delay

Notice how we normally write the number as a word, not in numerical form.

Adverbs and Compound Adjectives

Adverbs modify a verb.

She walks slowly.

How does she walk? Slowly. Slowly is an adverb that modifies (or describes) the verb.
Adverbs can also be used to modify an adjective.

It is very hot today. (Very is an adverb)

She is extremely intelligent. (Extremely is an adverb)

Notice how we do not put a hyphen between an adverb and an adjective (not even before a
noun).

It is a very hot day.

She is an extremely intelligent girl.

Adverb + Past Participle

However when we have an Adverb + past participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to
make it a compound adjective.

This is a brightly-lit room.

She is a well-known actress.

We live in a densely-populated city.

Noun + Past Participle

When we have a noun + past participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a
compound adjective.

We should start using wind-powered generators to cut costs.

I love eating sun-dried raisins.

Noun + Present Participle

When we have a noun + present participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a
compound adjective.

I bought some mouth-watering strawberries.

That was a record-breaking jump.

Noun + Adjective
When we have a noun + adjective, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a
compound adjective.

She is a world-famous singer.

This is a smoke-free restaurant.

Adjective + Noun
When we have an adjective + noun, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a
compound adjective.

It was a last-minute decision.

We watched the full-length version of the movie.

Adjective + Past Participle

When we have an adjective + past participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it
a compound adjective.

That is an old-fashioned dress

Reptiles are cold-blooded creatures.

Adjective + Present Participle

When we have an adjective + present participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to
make it a compound adjective.

She is a good-looking girl.

It left a long-lasting taste in my mouth.

Compound Adjectives with Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the name of something or someone (e.g. John, Susan Sanders).

Compound Adjectives made from Proper nouns don't need a hyphen though must have capital
letters.

I bought the James Jackson tickets for us.

James Jackson is a compound adjective describing the tickets (What type of tickets? James
Jackson tickets). Since the adjective is a Proper noun, we don't need a hyphen between the two
names.

How do we know when to put a hyphen?

If you can use the word and between the two adjectives or words, then a hyphen isn't
necessary.

She has a big blue book.

(Big and Blue are adjectives)

Can we say: She has a big and blue book. (Yes, it is possible)

He is a world famous singer

Can we say: He is a world and famous singer. No, it doesn't sound correct so we need a hyphen
to join the wordsworld and famous.
Also, look at the following:

It's an old coal-mining town

Notice how we didn't put a hyphen between the word old and coal. If we had have done that, we
would have been referring to old coal, as in coal that is old. We want to emphasis that the town in
old and not the coal.
Here we can say it is old and a coal-mining one.

SOURCE:
http://www.grammar.cl/english/compoundadjectives.htm