Hyphens

Hyphens are a form of dash (-) which we use between words or parts of words.

We can use hyphens to make compound words, most commonly compound nouns:

French lorry-drivers have blockaded three ports.

Compound nouns formed with prepositions and particles are also usually separated by hyphens:

Come and meet my father-in-law.
Don’t wear too much make-up if you are planning to be in the sun.

We use hyphens with compound verbs and with adverb + adjective compounds:

I’m phoning to ask if you can baby-sit for us this evening.
[Labradors are a breed of dog.]
It’s a well-known fact that Labradors have a very nice temperament.

We often use hyphens to separate words and prefixes:

The vice-president will speak to the company on Monday.
She met her ex-husband at a party last week.

We also use hyphens to separate compound modifiers:

The oven was red-hot when she touched it.
A twelve-year-old girl was found alone in the large house.

We also sometimes use hyphens when we write out figures:

There were sixty-eight people who applied for the job.
Three-quarters of the voters did not reply to the questionnaire.

However, hyphens are becoming less common and people often write several of the above words without hyphens or do not separate compound words at all. A common word with a hyphen such as post-box will also be seen as post box and postbox.

It is important to check the spelling of compound words in a good learner’s dictionary.