HYPHENS and DASHES

1) When 2+ adjectives function as a single adjective, they are hyphenated to demonstrate this singular purpose. In effect, the words are sewn together, which is appropriate since hyphens resemble stitches.

· The second-baseman, after making a miraculous catch, had a look-what-I-found expression on her face.

*It was NOT a look expression, NOT a what expression, NOT a I expression, and NOT a found expression; rather, the adjective modifying the noun “expression” was look-what-I-found.

· The six-year-old horse was put out to stud.

· (*Use NO hyphens as a NOUN: The six year old was a former Derby winner.)

· The teenager made a moment-of-truth decision at the party.

· Along with a nineteen-inch television, the robber stole a computer and a microwave.

2) Use a hyphen when you use the suffix “-like.”

· The right winger moved with cat-like agility on the ice.

*It was NOT cat agility, NOT like agility, but cat-like agility.

· (*Stylistically, a dedicated writer will often avoid such usage, searching instead for a proper adjective: "feline" in this instance. For a list of animal adjectives, click here.)

3) Use a hyphen when you use the prefix "self-."

· Vernon's self-confident smile vanished when he was rejected by Vera.

· "No self-respecting atheist believes in God," quipped Stan.

· The self-appointed leader, lacking self-awareness and self-analysis, failed to see the self-explanatory irony in her self-aggrandizing argument for self-government.

4) Use a hyphen when you use “-time.”

· Monica is a part-time college student and a full-time mother.

__________________________________________________________________________

B. COMPOUND NUMBERS:

1) twenty-five, seventy-nine

2) “two thirds” is NOT hyphenated when it is a NOUN; however, it is hyphenated when it is an ADJECTIVE.

· Two thirds of the class failed the grammar test.

· A two-thirds majority is required to pass the resolution.

__________________________________________________________________________

C. PREFIXES and SUFFIXES:

1) Use a hyphen with the following prefixes:

· ex-wife, ex-boyfriend

· self-mutilation, self-confidence

· mid-semester, mid-winter

· pre-Raphaelite, pre-Reformation

· pro-Life, pro-Choice, pro-reform (*"pro-" = "in favor of, for")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2) Use a hyphen with other prefixes to avoid confusion, especially when the result would be another word:

· re-evaluate (too many e’s)

· re-mark, re-form (both “remark” and “reform” are words with different meanings than the hyphenated sense)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) Use a hyphen with the following suffixes:

· senator-elect, councilwoman-elect

· part-time, full-time, all-time, 4-time

· vulture-like (vulturine), life-like (realistic), child-like (childish)

__________________________________________________________________________

DASHES

· TYPING: Formed by typing 2 hyphens; most word-processing programs will automatically make one long line when you are typing.

· TYPING: The dash touches both words, the last letter of the first word and the first letter of the next word.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

· FUNCTION: Use a dash to indicate an abrupt break in thought.

· Quote from any horror movie: "I thought I heard a noise down—"

· FUNCTION: Use a dash to set off parenthetical material, much like COMMAS and PARENTHESES.

· Richard Gere—who has made a career of playing practically the same character in every

movie—just appeared on Oprah's show to push his latest project.

· FUNCTION: Use a dash to mean “namely” or “in other words” or “that is.”

· Andy Pettitte’s decision to leave the New York Yankees was based on a single motive—he wanted to be closer to his family.