Hyphens

Why do we use hyphens? When we write, we can use punctuation to make the meaning/intentions of our language clearer. Punctuation is important in English; without it, it would be difficult to determine the structure and meaning of our language. For example:

Take the following sentence:

"Let's eat, grandma."

The meaning of this sentence is straightforward. A person is addressing their grandma and wants to eat with them. However, if you were to remove the comma, the meaning could be interpreted differently:

"Let's eat grandma."

This instead implies that the person wants to eat their grandma!

We can use a range of different punctuation in our writing, but this article will focus on hyphens. We will look at the meaning of hyphens and some examples (including hyphenated words and hyphens used in sentences). Hyphens are often confused with dashes, so we will also explore the differences between the two.

Hyphens Meaning

A hyphen is a short horizontal line (-) used to join words together or to join syllables within the same word. It is often used to make the meaning of words clearer and prevent misunderstanding (such as misreading or mispronunciation).

Fig. 1 - Hyphen on a keyboard.

Hyphens Example

Hyphens are used for a variety of different reasons. Below are some examples of the different ways hyphens can be used to modify words and add more clarity to a word's meaning:

Hyphenated Compound Words

Compound words are two or more words that are combined to form a single word that conveys one meaning. For example, bed + room = bedroom.

Hyphens can be used in between compound words to show the reader that they express a single idea and function as one unit of meaning. For example:

Hyphens in Compound Nouns

Hyphens in Compound Verbs

Hyphens in Compound Adjectives

Consider a different example:

Fig. 2 - State-of-the-art is an adjective.

State of the art is a noun phrase when written without hyphens. However, when hyphens are added, it turns into the adjective 'state-of-the-art.' E.g., "He bought a new state-of-the-art sound system."

Attaching a Prefix to a Root Word

A prefix is a letter/group of letters added to the beginning of a root word (the core form of a word). Sometimes, a prefix is attached to the root by using a hyphen. This is often done to make sure the word is not misread or mispronounced. For example:

Writing out Numbers and Fractions

Hyphens can be used when writing out numbers and fractions. This is done to make it easier to comprehend them. For example:

Writing a List

Hyphens can be used between words in a list to join multiple things together and show that they express the same idea. For example:

Hyphen Words

Below are some more examples of hyphenated words. How many of these words do you use often?

Hyphens in a Sentence

Below are some examples of sentences with hyphenated words:

Hyphens and Dashes - What is the Difference?

Hyphens can often be confused for dashes as they look similar! However, they do differ slightly and are both used for different reasons.

A hyphen is used to separate two or more words. There should not be a gap between the hyphen and the word. For example, 'double-edged' does not need to be written as 'double - edged.'

On the other hand, a dash is used to separate different parts of a sentence and emphasize a certain idea within that sentence. It works in a similar way to brackets. A dash is slightly longer than a hyphen and should have a space on either side of the words. For example:

Dashes can also be used to show a range of time, for example: