TO HYPHENATE OR NOT TO HYPHENATE, THAT IS THE QUESTION BY K J ROLLINSON

Do you get confused whether to hyphenate or not? Kathy Rollinson posted a fabulous list of rules of hyphenation on her blog.

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TO HYPHENATE OR NOT TO HYPHENATE, THAT IS THE QUESTION BY K J ROLLINSON

Do you know the rules that govern hyphenated words? I didn’t know when I began writing, and I relied on my ‘instinct’ or a dictionary and online information to guide me. Gradually, I came aware that there are distinct rules.

I was dithering whether to put foot or feet – when I was describing my protagonist in my latest book ‘Where Lies My Heart’ – whether to put six feet tall or six foot tall. Evidently, it doesn’t matter whether you use foot or feet, BUT the rules change, dependent whether you use feet or foot.

When it functions as an adjective phrase before a noun you use the singular form and hyphenate it – six-foot-tall. If the description comes after a verb you don’t use hyphens and use the plural form – six feet tall.

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19 thoughts on “TO HYPHENATE OR NOT TO HYPHENATE, THAT IS THE QUESTION BY K J ROLLINSON

  1. This is a common question that comes to mind for me, Michelle, so thank you for sharing and providing an answer! I have a feeling I’ll be relearning a lot once I return to school this fall. 🙂 ♥

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  2. Thanks for sharing this article, Michelle. There is some hard-to-find advice there that will make hyphens much easier to use! I always find useful information through you. 🙂

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    1. I have a Word programme which helps. If I am in doubt, I join words together, ie proofreader – see it stays as one word (without a squiggly red line underneath it). My word ‘programme’ has a red line underneath it because I’m using the UK spelling, not the American spelling.

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          1. Kathy, I could not agree more. I have my college English grammar book in front of me every day and I still make mistakes. I just try to do the best I can. I used to use the Grammarly Extension for Chrome and had to stop because our WordPress menu on the top right would not let me post and have the Grammarly icon in the general area. Now, I am winging it. Don’t count my errors. 😀 ❤

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