Grammar for Everyone - Barbara Dykes 2007
Hyphens
Introduction
Part II The parts of speech
Definition: ’hyphen’ is from Greek huphen, meaning ’together’ and refers to the combination of two words.
Many compound words have evolved from two hyphenated words and this seems to happen by way of a natural progression as an object becomes more common.
For example:
night school, but night-light and nightgown.
The best advice for students is to check with a dictionary. Students with a good command of language will probably, themselves, develop the ability to form hyphenated expressions, which are phrase-based and often combine words of two different parts of speech. It is a good idea to draw attention to them in literature and improve students’ awareness of the flexibility of language and the wonderful tools at their command.
For example:
age-defying moisturiser
finger-marked photos
never-to-be-forgotten moment