In my work, I often go for the modern, one-word, unhyphenated form if it exists in a reputable dictionary. Sometimes this could be due to readability (i.e., some words just wouldn't be clear without the hyphen), but I think it's more likely that they haven't been changed yet, but will indeed change sometime soon.
For example, Merriam-Webster has entries for good-looking and never-ending, whereas they've dropped the hyphens and gone with the one-word form for countless other entries. This isn't something I've seen a lot, but I would think it's a further change in the name of shortening and clarifying.Īs for your final question, I believe the short answer is that some words just haven't gotten around to being changed yet. It's interesting that some of the biology terms are losing the participial form (leaved, spined) and using the noun form (leaf, spine). However, I think this hyphen-dropping trend will only become more prevalent. Sometimes this wars with the rise of plain language, where the goal is to make everything easier to read/comprehend (hyphens can help readers, especially language learners, I believe). I believe this shortening of words and lack of punctuation is mostly due to social media and other online factors. Oxford Dictionaries are gradually following suit, and I think this trend will continue.
ANOTHER WORD FOR RUNNING ADJECTIVE MANUAL
I see more and more entries in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and the Chicago Manual of Style where the hyphen has been dropped from words. You're correct about the North American trend to lose the hyphen. As an editor, I am trained to be consistent within a document or website at all costs, even when there's a lack of consistency in the general field. Thanks for your thought-provoking comment! There is a lack of consistency even between dictionaries and style guides, so you're not alone in your frustration. I hope this blog post helped clarify this well‑known problem! He is good-looking.) However, I’d say that this rule works over 90% of the time. (A good-looking guy waved at me this morning. For example, the adjective good-looking is always hyphenated, no matter the position in the sentence. Are there exceptions? Unfortunately, there are always exceptions. Use hyphens if the multiple‑word adjective comes before a noun, otherwise don’t use hyphens. (Note: Now that we don’t need a hyphen, we must follow the normal rules for forming the plural, so we need to use an “ s.”) Our morning class break is five minutes.We followed up the reading exercise with comprehension questions.The images in our presentation were computer generated.Let’s take a look at the previous examples: When the multiple‑word adjective (or phrase involving a quantifier or adjective + noun) comes after the main verb (or is the main verb), do NOT use hyphens. It’s an environmentally friendly product.One common exception is with the adverb well. Examples:
Most adverb/adjective combinations will NOT be hyphenated. What about using adverbs and adjectives together? Be careful here.
I went for a 20‑kilometer run this morning.We have a five‑minute break in our morning class.Note that adjectives never take an “ s.” Examples: This rule is especially common with TIME, MONEY, and DISTANCE. After the reading exercise, answer these follow-up questions.We used computer-generated images in our presentation.If the multiple‑word adjective comes before a noun, use hyphens. Examples: Follow the rules below to achieve hyphenated-adjective perfection! Rule #1 Use Hyphens Before Nouns
It’s just a matter of placement within a sentence. Don’t let these little dashes scare you-the rules for their use within multiple‑word adjectives are actually quite simple. Such a tiny punctuation mark, yet hyphens can confound ESL students and L1 speakers alike. Sort out these pain-in-the-butt adjective rules once and for all!
0 kommentar(er)
