A hyphen ( - ) is used to compound or divide
numbers, words, or word
elements.
Using Hyphens Properly
1) Create a compound word by linking elements using a hyphen or hyphens.
He owns an out-of-town car.
2) Use a hyphen or hyphens in a compound word when one
or more elements
of the compound word contain a capital letter.
That boy always wears a T-shirt.
3) Use a hyphen or hyphens to connect elements of a
compound adjective
preceding a noun.
I like twentieth-century music, but I do not like living in the twentieth century.
4) When hyphenated adjectives in a series share a
closing element, that
element may be omitted until the final adjective in the string appears.
Kylie enjoys sixteenth-, seventeenth-, and eighteenth-century drama.
5) Do not use a hyphen to connect an adverb ending in -ly with an adjective.
The newly washed laundry was hanging heavily on the clothesline.
6) Do not use a hyphen to connect the adverb well with an adjective.
His car is not as well constructed as his neighbor’s car.
7) Use a hyphen after all-, ex-, and self- and before -elect.
The president-elect raised an all-important question.
8) Use a hyphen when spelling out fractions and
compound whole numbers
from twenty-one to ninety-nine.
He ate two-thirds of his cake when he turned twenty-one.
9) Use a hyphen to indicate inclusive numbers.
His mother (1921-1975) was a wonderful lady.
10) Use a hyphen to break a word between syllables at
the end of a line,
but only break a hyphenated compound at its hyphen. Never
split a
monosyllabic word.
Ray loses his temper when people accuse of possessing anti-
American
behavior.