Know When to Use A Hyphen in Compound Words

by JENNIFER ROVA

There are  several types of compound words:

1    1. Single word, no hyphens

           hindsight, babysit, baseball, kindercare, background, antebellum, carpetbagger

2. Do not use a hyphen unless it serves a purpose. If a compound adjective cannot be misread  
    and its meaning is recognized, do not use a hyphen:

            high school curriculum

            health care reform

            day treatment program

            play date

            grade point average

     

3. Hyphenated words acting as adjectives before a noun they modify if the term can be 
    misunderstood or if the term expresses a single thought:

            well-baby exam

            able-bodied man

            three-legged race

            well-intended plan

            triangle-shaped house

                 

4.  Compounds in which the base word is a proper noun or is                             

           a number: post-2001

           an abbreviation: pre-NALP trial

           capitalized: pro-British, German-speaking Austrians

           more than one word: non-qualifying-senior students

5. All "self-" compounds whether they are adjectives or nouns:

            self-report

            self-esteem

            the test was self-paced

            self-centered actor

6. Words that could be misunderstood:

            re-pair [pair again]

            re-form [form again]

            re-construction plans

            re-enact the murder

            re-carpet

7. Words in which the prefix ends and the base word begins with the same vowel:

           meta-analysis

           anti-intellectual

           co-occur

        

8. Use a hyphen to join a word to a past participle to create single objective preceding the noun 
     it modifies. If a compound adjective follows the term, do not use a hyphen, because 
     relationships are sufficiently clear without one:

well-intended plan; the plan was well intended

            hand-iron-shaped mark; the mark was in the shape of an hand iron

            same-sex children; children of the same sex

9. Write most words formed with prefixes as one word:

            aftereffect

            extracurricular

            multiphase

            socioeconomic

10. When two or more compound modifiers act together, the hyphens are retained in all    
       except the last modifier:

            long- and short-term memory

            2-, 3-, and 10-min trials

            pre- and post-war crimes
            red-, yellow- and green-tinged hues appear

11. Do not hyphenate compound words that end in “-ly” even if they precede a noun:

          fully developed plan

          heavily fortified troops

          stringently enforced rules

          accurately reported data word

12. When splitting a multiple syllable word at the end of a sentence. Split the word after a 
       syllable:

         I wrote the illustrated, minia-

         ture book in six months.

         He fished until his sun-     

         burned head hurt too much.

         Mary hurried through her college appli-

         cations.

(adapted from the sixth edition of the APA Publication Manual, 2010)

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