hyphen

Everyday

1. A hyphen is a short line (-) used to join words or parts of words together, as in «well-known» or «twenty-one». tree →
2. A hyphen is also used at the end of a line when a word is split and goes on to the next line. tree →

In the lessons

In English grammar and punctuation lessons (and SATs) you learn to use hyphens in compound numbers (thirty-four), in compound adjectives before a noun (a man-eating shark), with some prefixes (re-enter, co-owner) and to avoid confusion (re-cover a sofa versus recover from illness). In writing a hyphen can change the meaning: «a little-used car» and «a little used car» are different. Phrases: use a hyphen, joined by a hyphen, hyphenated word.

Examples

• Twenty-one has a hyphen in it. tree →
• Put a hyphen in «well-known» when it comes before a noun. tree →
• The word was too long, so the printer split it with a hyphen. tree →
• My name is double-barrelled, with a hyphen in the middle. tree →
• Is «e-mail» written with a hyphen or without? tree →
• A man-eating shark is different from a man eating shark! tree →
• Re-enter has a hyphen so the two e's do not run together. tree →
• The teacher circled the missing hyphen. tree →

Note

Countable: a hyphen, two hyphens. Pronounced «HY-fen». Trap: a hyphen (-) is shorter than a dash (– or —); a hyphen joins words, a dash separates parts of a sentence and has spaces around it in UK style. Do not confuse the hyphen with the minus sign in maths, which looks similar but means subtract. Compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine take a hyphen.