That’s the query. A minimum of it’s on my thoughts daily as an editor. As content material writers and editors, we waste an excessive amount of time combing by means of SERPs to determine if a selected phrase is hyphenated or not (and the outcomes … differ).
The finest content material advertising and marketing businesses have groups of content material advertising and marketing professionals — from writers and editors to managers and website positioning specialists — to make sure their clients have top-of-the-line content material.
However let’s not drag out this intro an excessive amount of. Bookmark this web page and reference our hyphenation information if you encounter these widespread content material advertising and marketing phrases (and different phrases I’ve Googled all through the years).
- Hyphen Fundamentals
- Hyphens vs. Em Dashes vs. En Dashes
- Does Hyphenation Have an effect on website positioning
- Hyphenating Frequent Phrases + Hyphen Glossary
- How To Hyphenate SaaS Phrases
- How To Hyphenate Fintech Phrases
- How To Hyphenate E-commerce Phrases
- Further Hyphenation Guidelines
Hyphen Fundamentals
Hyphenation is without doubt one of the trickiest punctuation nuances to be taught, and it appears like its guidelines are at all times in flux. And for content material writers and editors working in ever-changing industries like fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce, new phrases pop up yearly, like spring flowers. So it’s at all times important to refresh your content material recurrently — or at any time when industries evolve.
Fortunately, there are just a few important hyphenation guidelines to know if you surprise, “Wait…is that this phrase hyphenated or not?” Listed here are some fundamentals:
Hyphenate compound modifiers earlier than a noun:
When two phrases kind a single thought, they’re generally known as compound modifiers, and it is best to hyphenate them earlier than a noun. You often don’t must hyphenate them after a noun.
Let’s check out the principles for the massive three stylebooks that editors will most frequently reference:
- AP Stylebook says: Do use a hyphen if it’s wanted to make the which means clear and keep away from unintended meanings: small-business proprietor, better-qualified candidate, little-known tune, French-speaking folks, free-thinking philosophy, loose-knit group, low-income staff, never-published steering, self-driving automotive, bases-loaded triple, one-way avenue.
- Chicago Says: Hyphenate compound adjectives earlier than a noun.
- MLA Says: A normal precept is that two phrases forming an adjective earlier than a noun use a hyphen, [and] two phrases forming an adjective after a noun don’t.
Tip: Abbreviations characterize a single phrase in compound modifiers, so additionally, you will hyphenate them after they come earlier than a noun:
- That is an FDA-approved drug.
- It offers with U.S.-Mexico relations.
Hyphenate Compound Modifiers After a “To Be” Verb
In accordance with the AP Stylebook, you might also often hyphenate a compound modifier after a verb type of “to be” when it’s good to keep away from confusion within the sentence. Take the compound modifier “leading edge” for instance right here.
- Earlier than a noun: The cutting-edge software program was elite.
- As a noun: The software program is on the leading edge.
- A compound modifier after a type of “to be”: The software program is cutting-edge.
Guidelines for Hyphenating Adverbs
You don’t want a hyphen when writing a compound modifier the place one phrase is:
- Very
- It’s a really high quality dinner.
- An adverb that ends in -ly
- This isn’t an environmentally pleasant plastic.
- She is a brutally trustworthy decide.
- It’s a mutually unique course of.
This will likely seem to be a complicated rule as a result of absolutely these adverbs are a part of the compound modifier, proper? Effectively, not essentially. An adverb is a difficult operate that modifies one other close by modifier or verb. (OK, take a deep breath with me. You bought this).
Let’s dissect our sentences from above:
- “Very” modifies “high quality,” which modifies “dinner.”
- “Environmentally” modifies “pleasant,” which modifies “plastic.”
- “Brutally” modifies “trustworthy,” which modifies “decide.”
Examine these to compound modifiers, the place solely the noun is modified by two phrases within the sentence. You’ll say, “These are our agreed-upon phrases,” as a result of “agreed” nonetheless modifies “phrases,” though there’s one other phrase between them.
You bought that? Is your mind feeling scrambled? Mine too! However these are important guidelines to know to create high-quality content material that converts. Additionally, it’s okay to only do a command+F for the phrases you’re in search of in the event you don’t need to get into the weeds with me! Let’s transfer on.
Quantity Hyphenation Guidelines
Once I’m not referencing my varied model guides for hyphenation guidelines, I’m in all probability on the web page that explains quantity pointers. Put the 2 of them collectively, and it’s all too doable to have a particularly complicated scenario in your fingers.
Fortunately for all of us, hyphenation guidelines for numbers are pretty simple to recollect. Test it out:
- Hyphenating entire numbers: Hyphenate giant entire numbers like twenty-one, eighty-seven, and 100 twenty-five. However that is just for uncommon instances or at first of sentences.
- Hyphenating fractions: Hyphenate all fractions beneath zero, like one-fourth, two-ninths, and eight-seventeenths. For fractions bigger than 1, use decimals. When writing the colloquial phrase “and a half” after an age, use areas.
- Hyphenating ages: Hyphenate ages when used as an adjective earlier than a noun and use figures for the age. For instance, the boy is 11 years previous, and he has a 7-year-old sister.
Suspended Compound Hyphens
When a single topic has a number of modifiers in entrance of it, you should utilize a suspended hyphen as a substitute of repeating the topic in a sentence. This can enable you to write with concision:
- It was a first-, second-, and third-course meal.
- It’s a water-, heat-, and pest-resistant drywall.
The three-Letter Rule
While you’re writing a compound modifier the place three consecutive letters happen, it’s finest observe to hyphenate the time period to make sure readability. The sentence, “We’re profitable at crossselling,” is tough to learn. It’s simpler for an viewers to learn the grammatically appropriate model, “We succeed at cross-selling.”
Hyphenation for Title Case Headers
When coping with a shopper that makes use of title case, I’ll typically should rummage by means of my varied model guides to see the way to precisely capitalize hyphenated phrases. Is it grammatically appropriate to say “Greatest-in-class” or “Greatest-In-Class”? Sadly, the reply isn’t as concrete appropriately.
Whereas the AP Stylebook and Chicago Handbook of Type suggest capitalizing a number of phrases in a hyphenated title, many consumers favor to see them in lowercase. On this case, flip to your shopper if you surprise if it’s okay to capitalize hyphenated phrases in headers.
If they’re sluggish to reply, put your enhancing cap on and have a look at their earlier weblog posts to see if there’s current proof of their most well-liked model.
Hyphens vs. Em Dashes vs. En Dashes
One of the vital widespread questions I obtain as an editor, in addition to whether or not one thing is hyphenated or not, is concerning the variations between hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes.
Lengthy story brief, there are too many dashes. However all of them serve a singular operate, so let’s cowl the way to inform the distinction, going from shortest to longest:
- Hyphens ( – ) are the shortest of the three most important dashes. You’ll primarily use hyphens to be a part of two or extra phrases, compound modifiers, fractions, and entire numbers. When following the AP Stylebook, additionally, you will use hyphens for quantity ranges.
- En dashes ( – ) are probably the most hardly ever used sprint on this record. You’ll primarily use them for quantity ranges whereas working with the Chicago Handbook of Type and MLA. AP doesn’t use the en sprint in any kind. MLA additionally makes use of the en sprint for open compounds, that are compounds that aren’t instantly adopted by a noun (the College of Nebraska–Omaha, for instance).
- Em dashes ( — ) are widespread in all types of writing, from journalism to fiction. You’ll use em dashes to create a stylistic pause in your writing or sign a change of thought. The AP stylebook makes use of areas round em dashes, whereas MLA and the Chicago Handbook of Type don’t use areas. Nonetheless, many companies that use AP model don’t like this rule, so double-check your shopper’s model information earlier than enhancing.
Does Hyphenation Have an effect on website positioning?
Hyphens do have an effect on website positioning and search quantity — however on a case-by-case foundation. Google is an ever-learning algorithm that can present totally different outcomes primarily based in your search intent.
Whereas the SERP reveals the identical top-ranking outcomes for “king-size mattress” and “king dimension mattress,” the grammatically appropriate kind (with the hyphen — it’s a compound modifier, in spite of everything) produces 50.8 million outcomes, whereas the one with out the hyphen reveals 41.1 million as of this writing.
Hyphenating Frequent Phrases + Hyphen Glossary
*All phrases highlighted in crimson are incorrect kinds. We included them within the chart for command+F or ctrl+F functions.
Phrase | Rule | Instance |
---|---|---|
Add-on or Add on | Hyphenated as a compound noun and adjective. Not hyphenated as a verb. |
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Agreed-upon or Agreed upon | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier. |
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And-a-half or And a half | Don’t hyphenate the colloquial time period. Solely hyphenate the right fraction: one-half. |
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Backup, Again up, or Again-up | Written as one phrase as a noun and verb. Use areas when it’s a verb. |
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Model-new or Model new | All the time hyphenated as an adjective. |
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Enterprise-to-business or enterprise to enterprise (additionally: business-to-consumer) | All the time hyphenate whether or not it’s an adjective or noun. |
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Name-to-action or name to motion | Solely hyphenated as a compound modifier earlier than a noun. |
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Buyer-to-customer or buyer to buyer | All the time hyphenate as a noun and modifier. |
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Chopping-edge or Leading edge | Hyphenate as a compound modifier. Hyphenate when it follows a type of “to be.” Don’t hyphenate the noun. |
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Day-to-day or Everyday | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier earlier than a noun. |
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Resolution-makers or resolution makers | Hyphenated as a compound noun or adjective. |
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Resolution-making or resolution making | A compound noun and adjective — at all times hyphenate. |
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Double-check or Double verify | A hyphenated verb. |
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Drag-and-drop or Drag and drop | Hyphenated as an adjective. Use areas for the verb.By no means spell it as “drag-n-drop” or “drag n drop” except particularly requested. |
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Simple-to-use or Simple to make use of | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier earlier than a noun. |
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Empty-handed or empty handed | A hyphenated adjective, irrespective of its place in a sentence. |
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Finish-to-end or Finish to finish | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier earlier than a noun. |
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Finish-users or Finish customers | Hyphenate the compound modifier earlier than the noun. Use areas for the noun kind. |
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Entry-level or entry stage | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier. Areas when it features as a noun or follows a noun. |
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Face-to-face or Head to head | All the time hyphenate. |
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Farm-to-table or farm to desk | Phrasal noun; at all times hyphenated. |
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Positive-tune or high quality tune | A hyphenated verb. |
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Flare-up or Flare up | Hyphenated noun. Use an area for the phrasal verb. |
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Comply with-up or observe up | Hyphenated noun. Use an area for the verb kind. |
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Ahead-thinking or ahead considering | All the time hyphenate. |
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Gap-in-one or gap in a single | Merriam Webster: An unhyphenated noun phrase. AP Type: All the time hyphenated. |
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Sick-will or Sick will | Hyphenated if you conjugate the verb. |
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In-sync or in sync | An idiom. By no means hyphenated. |
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In-the-know or within the know | Unhyphenated noun phrase. |
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Leap-start or bounce begin (additionally: Leap-started or jump-starting) | A hyphenated transitive verb. |
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Lead-in or lead in | All the time hyphenated as a noun and adjective. |
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Little-to-no or little to no | A determiner, not an adjective — by no means hyphenate. |
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Mother-and-pop store or Mother and pop store | A standard idiom + noun. All the time hyphenated. |
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Cash-back or a reimbursement | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier earlier than a noun. |
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A number of-choice or a number of alternative | Hyphenate when it’s a compound modifier. |
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Mutually-exclusive or mutually unique | By no means hyphenated as a compound modifier. |
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9-to-five or 9 to 5 | All the time hyphenated as a noun and compound modifier. |
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Be aware-taking or Be aware taking | A hyphenated noun and compound modifier. |
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One-on-one or One on one | Hyphenated noun and adjective. |
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One-size-fits-all or One dimension suits all | All the time hyphenated. |
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One-stop-shop, One-stop store, or One cease store | Hyphenate “one-stop.” It’s by no means “one-stop-shop.” |
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Out-of-the-box or Out of the field | Hyphenate as a compound modifier. |
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Out-think or Outthink | A transitive verb that’s by no means hyphenated. |
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Pop-up or Pop up | Hyphenated as a noun or adjective. By no means hyphenated as a verb. |
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Downside-solving or Downside fixing | Hyphenated as a verb and adjective. |
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Actual-time or actual time | Hyphenated as an adjective. Use areas when it’s a noun. |
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Danger-taking or danger taking | A hyphenated noun. |
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Position-play, roleplay, or position play | A hyphenated transitive verb. Much less generally seen as a single phrase. |
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Second-guess or second guess | A hyphenated transitive verb. |
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Second-hand, secondhand, or second hand | By no means hyphenated. A single phrase when used as an adjective or adverb. |
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Ship-off or ship off | A hyphenated noun. |
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Shake-up, shakeup, or shake up | A hyphenated noun. Use areas as a verb. |
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State-of-the-art or cutting-edge | A hyphenated noun phrase. |
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Step-by-step or step-by-step | Hyphenated as an adjective or adverb. Not hyphenated as a noun. |
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Step-up or step up | Hyphenated as a noun. Use an area to jot down the verb kind. |
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Take-home pay or take residence pay | Hyphenated noun. |
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Third-party or third occasion | Hyphenated as a compound modifier. |
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Time-consuming or time consuming | A hyphenated adjective. |
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Prime-ranking or high rating | A hyphenated adjective. |
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Commerce-in or commerce in | A hyphenated adjective and noun. Use areas for the transitive verb. |
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Two-factor authentication or two issue authentication | A compound modifier that’s at all times hyphenated. |
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Upside-down or the wrong way up | Hyphenated as an adjective. Not hyphenated as an adverb. |
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Up-to-date or updated | Hyphenate as a compound modifier. |
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Vacuum-sealed or vacuum sealed (additionally: Vacuum-packed) | All the time hyphenate as a verb and adjective. |
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Effectively-being, properly being, or wellbeing | All the time hyphenated, by no means one phrase. |
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White-label or white label | The foundations fluctuate. Test your model information! | |
Wi-Fi, Wifi, or Wi Fi | All the time use the hyphenated time period. |
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Work-from-home or do business from home | A hyphenated compound modifier. Use areas for the verb kind. |
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Work-life stability or work life stability | All the time hyphenated. |
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Worn-out or worn out | Hyphenated as a compound modifier. Use an area to jot down the verb kind. |
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Worst-case situation or worst case situation | All the time hyphenated as a noun phrase. |
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Write-off or write off | Hyphenate the noun kind. Use areas for the verb. |
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Zero-waste or zero waste | Hyphenate the compound modifier. Two phrases as a noun. |
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How To Hyphenate SaaS Phrases
Utilizing the principles we realized above, listed here are some generally hyphenated SaaS phrases. Lots of the compound modifiers which have a phrase in parentheses after it might be written with out a hyphen in its noun or verb kinds.
- Break-even (level)
- Click on-through (fee)
- Cross-selling
- Go-to-market (technique)
- In-product
- Man-in-the-middle (assault)
- Publish-purchase
- PQL-to-customer
- Product-qualified
- Gross sales-qualified lead
- Service-based
- Signup-to-customer
- Signup-to-PQL
- Person-friendly
- Customer-to-signup fee
Use this small glossary as an support, and take a look at our put up about SaaS advertising and marketing traits for 2024.
How To Hyphenate Fintech Phrases
Our glossary of fintech phrases might help you establish what widespread phrases are hyphenated or not.
- Anti-money laundering (AML)
- Card-not-present
- Money again
- Price-effective
- Credential stuffing assault
- Cross-border
- Lending-as-a-Function
- Lending-as-a-Service
- Month-over-month
- No-cost (service)
- Non-financial (software program)
- One-time (fee)
- Level-of-Buy
- Quarter-over-quarter
- Yr-over-year
Our glossary of hyphenated phrases is ideal for many who concentrate on fintech website positioning.
How To Hyphenate E-commerce Phrases
Your e-commerce retailer displays your model. Be taught some widespread hyphenated phrases from this glossary.
- Brick-and-mortar (location)
- Price-per-click
- Cross-shopping
- Direct-to-consumer
- In-store
- M-commerce
Further Hyphenation Guidelines
However wait! There’s extra. In case you’re interested in widespread prefixes and suffixes and the principles editors observe to hyphenate them, we’ve obtained you lined. Use these charts to assist stage up your website positioning writing for all industries and clients.
Frequent Prefix Hyphen Guidelines
Earlier than we bounce into one other record of phrases, let’s cowl just a few fundamental guidelines:
- You’ll at all times use hyphens for prefixes that precede a correct noun, a quantity, or an abbreviation.
- All the time use a hyphen when a prefix ends with the identical vowel as the bottom phrase it connects to.
- Embrace a hyphen after a prefix to emphasise the true which means of a phrase. For instance: resign vs. re-sign.
Prefix | Rule | Examples |
---|---|---|
All- | All the time hyphenate this prefix |
|
Greatest-in- | A compound prefix. Hyphenate it as a compound adjective earlier than a noun. The noun has areas. |
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Co- | Use a hyphen to make clear that this prefix is separate from one other phrase that begins with a vowel. No must hyphenate widespread phrases. |
|
Counter- | Usually written with out a hyphen. |
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Crypto- | Often written as one phrase. |
|
E- | E-terms are at all times hyphenated besides for the next phrases:
Solely capitalize the “E” in title case when utilizing a hyphen. |
|
Additional- |
|
|
Free- | Hyphenate relying on the operate within the sentence. |
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Excessive-(Additionally: Larger-, Highest-) | Hyphenate the compound adjectives. |
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Low-(Additionally: Decrease-, Lowest-) | Hyphenate the compound adjectives. |
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Multi- | Don’t use a hyphen for this prefix. |
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Mutually- | An adverb that immediately modifies phrases after it. No hyphen. |
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Non- | Don’t hyphenate widespread phrases. Use a hyphen for compound modifiers and to indicate that this prefix is separate from one other phrase or correct noun. |
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Pre- | Not often hyphenated except to separate two e’s or when adopted by a correct noun. |
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Re- | Solely use hyphens when:
|
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Self- | All the time hyphenate this prefix. |
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Effectively-(Additionally: A lot-) | Hyphenate this prefix when it’s a compound modifier. |
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Frequent Hyphenated Suffix Guidelines
Suffix | Rule | Examples |
---|---|---|
-approve | No must hyphenate. |
|
-based | All the time hyphenate this suffix. |
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-designate | All the time hyphenate this suffix. |
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-elect | All the time hyphenate this suffix. |
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-fold | Use a hyphen when the quantity is larger than 10 or if it’s a posh decimal or fraction. |
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-free | All the time hyphenate this suffix. |
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-friendly | Usually hyphenated in response to AP Stylebook, apart from the time period “cellular pleasant.” |
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-generation | Hyphenate as an adjective. Use areas when it’s a noun. |
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-like | Hyphenate in particular conditions:
|
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-to-use(Additionally: -to-navigate, -to-see) | Hyphenate as a compound modifier. |
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An All-Encompassing Content material Advertising Company
Nonetheless with us? Good. At Siege Media, we have now a staff of content material advertising and marketing website positioning professionals that cowl each stage of content material creation and supply — from content material advertising and marketing specialists to website positioning professionals and designers. Our writers and editors constantly be certain that your top-dollar content material is correctly hyphenated so that you don’t should.
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