2.1.14

Hyphens

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Hyphens

Hyphens are used to join words together. Hyphens tell us that 2 or more words in a sentence are linked. There are quite a few different uses of hyphens:

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Compound adjectives

  • Compound adjectives are linked adjectives that are used before a noun. For example:
    • ‘A multi-storey building’.
    • ‘A state-of-the-art design’.
  • The adjectives are linked to create an overall adjective.
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Avoiding confusion

  • Sometimes a hyphen helps avoid confusion when words can have more than one meaning.
    • E.g. ‘John recovered the cushions’ means something different to ‘John re-covered the cushions’.
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Writing on a new line

  • Hyphens can be used to break up a word if it continues onto the next line.
    • A hyphen can only break up a word between two syllables in a word. For example:
      • It was only that night that I dis-
        covered where they were hiding.
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Prefixes

  • Hyphens are used in words that begin with the prefixes 'self', 'ex' and 'all'.
    • E.g. self-assured, self-doubt.
    • E.g. ex-con, ex-professional.
    • E.g. all-knowing, all-expenses paid.

Hyphens in Names and Numbers

Hyphens are used to join words together. Hyphens tell us that 2 or more words in a sentence are linked. Here are some more examples of how you can use hyphens.

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Double-barrelled last names

  • People with double-barrelled last names use a hyphen to separate their two last names. For example:
    • William Jones-Smith.
    • Sandra McCartney-Philips.
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Hyphens to write numbers

  • We use hyphens when writing numbers as words:
    • Fractions (e.g. it was one-quarter of the amount).
    • Compound numbers after 21 (e.g. My Dad is forty-two years old).
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Hyphens for a range

  • We also use hyphens to give a range:
    • Times (e.g. 9:15-10:15).
    • Between numbers of people (e.g. 320-450 Americans).
    • Between page numbers (e.g. p 200-250).
    • Between dates (e.g. 1990-2000).

Jump to other topics

1Spelling

2Punctuation

3Grammar

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