What’s a Hyphen Anyway?
The hyphen (not to be confused with the en dash and em dash, but more on those later) is a commonly misused punctuation mark. Although seemingly insignificant, it is a powerful tool that clarifies the meaning of words. With that in mind, we decided to share with you a few guidelines on the proper use of the hyphen:
Compound Words - Keep it Together!
Hyphens are used to join two or more words together to create a compound word. Examples of compound words include: well-being, mother-in-law, and self-esteem.
Prefixes and suffixes are great tools
Hyphens are used to join a prefix or suffix to a word. Examples include: pre-war, non-profit, and -like in childlike.
Connect your adjectives for better descriptions
Hyphens are used to join two or more adjectives that describe and precede a noun. For example, a "well-written" book or a "full-time" job. But not when the noun comes before the adjectives, as in “the book was well written”. Hyphens can also be used to write out fractions. For example, two-thirds or three-fourths.
Use hyphens for spelling and clarity
Hyphens can also be used to avoid ambiguity and clarify meaning. For example, “re-sign” as opposed to “resign”. They can also be used if a word looks unclear due to there being two vowels, as in “re-engineer” instead of “reengineer”.
It is worth noting that not all compound words require hyphens and the various style guides will have specific rules that need to be followed. However, the proper use of the hyphen is essential for clear and effective communication, which is where we come in. Here at English Editorial Solutions in Hong Kong, one of our dedicated team of professional editors and proofreaders will go over your document in detail to make sure that the grammar, punctuation, spelling, style, and tone, etc. in your document are all polished to the highest possible standard.