Hyphens
Hyphens are handy punctuation marks when you want to link words
or parts of words. They can give the reader clues about the meaning
of a word or sentence.
Hyphens [-] are frequently confused with dashes [—], which look
similar but longer and have a different purpose. Dashes are used to
separate phrases. Hyphens are used to join words.
This handout will help you learn where to use hyphens and how to
use them effectively.
Here’s an example of how a hyphen can clarify the meaning of a word:
Example: This afternoon I’m going to the coop to get some eggs.
Is the speaker going to the chicken coop or a grocery co-op (short for cooperative)? If the
speaker used a hyphen and said This afternoon I’m going to the co-op to get some eggs, the
sentence would be clearer.
Use a hyphen for two words that join together to modify a noun.
Examples:
middle-class values
best-selling novel
well-known musician
self-fulfilling prophecy
soft-hearted friend
ill-mannered child
This also applies when one of these words is
a number:
eighteenth-century drama
tenth-grade class
one-way street
47-minute swim
Use a hyphen for phrases that modify nouns.
out-of-body experience
all-you-can-eat buffet
devil-may-care attitude
step-by-step instructions
over-the-counter drug
Use a hyphen when you use prefixes (pro, anti, post, pre, neo, mid) before proper nouns.
pro-Catholic sentiment
neo-Nazi racism
pre-Columbian art
mid-Atlantic states
anti-NAFTA protests
post-Freudian theory
*This Handout was made with help from The Brief Penguin Handbook by Lester Faiglay*
See other side for common hyphen errors 
Common Hyphen Errors
DO NOT use a hyphen for two words that modify a noun, that come after that noun.
Examples:
The instructor’s approach is student centered.
DO NOT use a hyphen for two words that modify a noun, when the first one is very or ends in –ly.
Examples:
newly recorded data
freshly painted bench
very cold day
very jolly baby
DO NOT use a hyphen for chemical terms.
Examples:
calcium chloride base
hyrdrochloric acid solution
DO NOT use a hyphen for foreign terms used as adjectives.
Examples:
a priori decision
post hoc fallacy
*This Handout was made with help from The Brief Penguin Handbook by Lester Faiglay*
See other side for hyphen guidelines 