Hyphens: An Advanced Course

Last time, I offered this rule of thumb for hyphens: If the phrase that you are tempted to hyphenate is the last thing in the sentence, don't hyphenate it. If it is not the last thing in the sentence, hyphenate it.

Of course, the rule of thumb doesn’t tell the whole story. To be more accurate in your hyphen use, you need to look at the phrase’s relationship to the noun(s) in the sentence.

Phrases that Come Before a Noun

If a phrase comes before a noun, and the phrase describes the noun (like an adjective does), then hyphenate it. Examples:

A well-fed dog

A full-time employee

Cutting-edge technology

A three-year-old girl

A fit-to-be-tied animal

The only exceptions to this are if the first word in the phrase is very or ends in -ly.

A barely legal coed

A very funny joke

Phrases that Come After a Noun

If a phrase comes after a noun, and the phrase describes the noun (like an adjective does), then it does not need a hyphen.

Let’s take the same examples used above, and move them so that the phrase comes after the noun. Now they need no hyphen:

That dog sure is well fed, bless his heart.

All of our employees are full time, except the ones who work part time.

The technology in our house is cutting edge.

My daughter is three years old, but she thinks she is sixteen.

When we took its food away, that caterpillar was fit to be tied.

If it didn’t have a hyphen before, don’t add one now:

I’d date her, but she is barely legal.

The jokes he tells are very funny.

Noun Phrases that Stand Alone

If a noun phrase stands alone (in other words, it’s not modifying another noun), it usually doesn’t need a hyphen. Example:

She is an artist who works with mixed media.

Exception: If the meaning of the phrase would be unclear without a hyphen, then use a hyphen to make it clearer. Examples:

The mayor met with big-box-company leaders. (the leaders of big box companies)

The mayor met with big box-company leaders. (the big leaders of box companies)

The mayor met with big box company leaders. (with no hyphens, the meaning is a mystery)

My next blog will be about more-fun topics. (topics that are less dull)

My next blog will be about more fun topics. (a greater number of fun topics)

That girl is quick-witted. (She has a quick wit)

That girl is quick witted. (Same meaning, but without the hyphen, you first read “That girl is quick,” and then when you read on, you see “witted,” and you have to go back and fix what you thought it meant. A hyphen saves you all that work.)

Non-Noun Uses

Often, I see people hyphenating verb phrases, such as my alderman declaring that summer had kicked-off. This one is easier. You almost never need to hyphenate a verb phrase. The few exceptions to this rule (such as double-space) can be looked up in the dictionary.

Let’s take check in as an example.

Let’s get to the conference early so we can check-in. (WRONG!)

Let’s get to the conference early so we can check in. (CORRECT!)

On the other hand, as we’ve learned above, if that same phrase appeared before a noun and described that noun, then it would get a hyphen.

We ran into our friends at the check-in desk.

And Now...


If you can find the mistake in this sentence, then you’ve earned your diploma in Hyphen Studies!

The good-looking people who read Edit This Blog are incredibly-smart.