Hyphenated words - Spelling: plurals, possessives, and hyphenation - Style

Student's guide to writing college papers, Fourth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2010

Hyphenated words
Spelling: plurals, possessives, and hyphenation
Style

A compound word or a compound modifier may be hyphenated, left open (with a space between elements), or closed (spelled as one word). To find out which form to use, check your dictionary first. If you cannot find a compound there, follow the principles in the following sections to decide whether or not to hyphenate. If you cannot find the form in either place, leave the compound open.

The patterns outlined below are not hard-and-fast rules. You will have to decide many individual cases on the basis of context, personal taste, or common usage in your discipline. Although much of the suggested hyphenation is logical and aids readability, some is only traditional.

21.4.1 Words Formed with Prefixes (and Prefix-like Prepositions)

21.4.1.1 The General Rule

Words formed with prefixes are normally closed (spelled as one word), whether they are nouns (postmodernism), verbs (misrepresent), adjectives (antebellum), or adverbs (prematurely). This pattern also applies to prepositions such as over and under that can be attached to words in the same position as prefixes (overachiever, underhanded).

21.4.1.2 Special Cases That Call for Hyphens

Use a hyphen between a prefix and the word it precedes in these cases:

Prefix + capitalized word:

sub-Saharan, pro-Asian, anti-American, un-American, trans-Siberian

Prefix + numeral:

pre-1950, mid-'80s, pro-3M, neo-'60s

Prefix + compound (hyphenated or open):

non-coffee-drinking, post-high school, pro-American dream

Stand-alone prefix in a compound phrase:

pre- and postwar, pro- and anti-Asian, over- and underachievers

Doubled prefix:

sub-sub-Saharan, sub-subclaim, post-postmodern, mega-megatrucks

Doubled letters at junction of prefix and root:

NOT: antiintellectual BUT: anti-intellectual

NOT:
megaandroid BUT: mega-android

NOT:
protooncologist BUT: proto-oncologist

NOT:
cyberrage BUT: cyber-rage

Combinations that may be confused with other words:

re-cover (cover again) vs. recover, re-creation (created again) vs. recreation

21.4.2 Compounds Used as Adjectives

In most cases, hyphenate such a compound when it precedes the noun it modifies; otherwise leave it open.

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21.4.3 Compounds Used as Nouns

In most cases, compounds used as nouns are open.

master builder, middle class, decision making, cooking class

Many frequently used compounds are closed.

bookkeeper, handyman, birthrate, notebook

Only in special cases are compound nouns hyphenated (see 21.4.4).

21.4.4 Compounds Normally Hyphenated

The following compounds are normally hyphenated, no matter how or where they are used. In some cases, individual compounds that are especially common are closed (check your dictionary). Any exceptions are noted.

Age terms:

a three-year-old, three-year-old children, a fifty-two-year-old woman, eight- to ten-year-olds

all- (adjectives):

all-American player, all-out effort, all-encompassing rule, the rule is all-encompassing

Note: Adverbial all-forms are open: went all out, looked all around

cross-:

cross-checked pages, cross-referenced term, a cross-reference, go cross-country

Note: Some forms are closed: crossbow, crossover

e-:

e-marketing, an e-mail message, e-commerce, an e-book page

-elect:

president-elect, mayor-elect, chairwoman-elect

Exception: Multi-word elected offices are open: district attorney elect, county delegate elect

ever-:

ever-ready helper, ever-recurring problem

Note: everlasting

ex-:

ex-boyfriend, ex-marine, ex-CEO, ex-kindergarten teacher

Familiar phrases (standardized with hyphens):

Jack-of-all-trades, stick-in-the-mud

Fractions:

a two-thirds share, two-thirds done, four-fifths majority, seven-sixteenths

Exception: Use only one hyphen per fraction: one and three-quarters, three fifty-thirds

Note: Combinations of one-word fractions plus nouns follow the general rule: an eighth note, a half mile, a half-mile run, the run was a half mile long

Functional pairs (that could also be written with and):

city-state government (i.e., city and state), a nurse-practitioner, student-teacher internship, Arab-Israeli peace, Russian-English dictionary

great- (kinship):

great-grandmother, great-grandfather, great-aunt

-in-law:

son-in-law, mother-in-law, cousin-in-law

-odd:

twenty-odd points, 350-odd students, a hundred-odd dollars

on-:

on-screen, on-site

Note: Many on- words are closed: online, onboard, ongoing

Proper nouns, shortened:

Anglo-Saxon culture, Afro-American studies, the Franco-Prussian War, the Sino-Soviet bloc

self-:

self-realization, self-sustaining, self-conscious

Note: unselfconscious

-style:

Chicago-style pizza, '60s-style music, southern-style cooking, English-style riding

21.4.5 Compounds Normally Open

The following compounds are normally open (no hyphens), no matter how they are used. In some cases, individual compounds that are especially common are closed (check your dictionary). Any exceptions are noted.

-book:

reference book, coupon book, comic book

Note: checkbook, cookbook, textbook

Chemical terms:

hydrogen peroxide, sodium chloride solution

Colors:

bluish green water, the eyes are emerald green, red and green outfit

Note: Black and white follows the standard pattern: the print is black and white, a black-and-white print

Comparative constructions:

less prepared students, most talented athletes, those athletes are most talented

Note: Add a hyphen if readers might be confused over what the term modifies:

We hired more skilled workers to fill in for the holidays (i.e., more workers who are skilled).

Our training program produces more-skilled workers (i.e., workers who are more skilled).

-general:

attorney general, postmaster general

-ly adverbs:

highly regarded teacher, widely known singer, partially chewed food

Modified by a preceding adverb:

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-percent:

5 percent, a 10 percent increase, your score was 86 percent

Note: Use Arabic numerals.

Proper nouns:

African American students, a Chinese American lawyer, the North Central Region, State Department employees, she is French Canadian

21.4.6 Compounds Normally Closed

The following compounds are normally closed. Any exceptions are noted.

-ache:

toothache, stomachache, heartache

-borne, -like, or -wide:

foodborne, childlike, doglike, systemwide, wordwide

Exception 1, proper nouns: Chicago-wide, Obama-like

Exception 2, three or more syllables: mosquito-borne, handkerchief-like

Exception 3, repeated letters: meadow-wide, bell-like

Directions:

Two directions: northeast, northwest, southwest, southeast

Three directions: east-northeast, north-northwest, south-southeast

Note: north-south, east-west, northeast-southwest, southeast-northwest

grand- (kinship):

grandfather, grandmother, granddaughter, grandnephew

step- (kinship):

stepmother, stepfather, stepson, stepgranddaughter