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Hyphen and Dash

The document provides guidance on using hyphens and dashes in writing. It outlines rules for when to use the hyphen, including with compound words and numbers, prefixes and suffixes, and for syllabication. It also covers uses of the dash, such as to indicate a break in thought, set off parenthetical elements, and emphasize appositives. The document concludes with practice exercises asking the reader to punctuate sentences correctly using hyphens or dashes.

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172 views

Hyphen and Dash

The document provides guidance on using hyphens and dashes in writing. It outlines rules for when to use the hyphen, including with compound words and numbers, prefixes and suffixes, and for syllabication. It also covers uses of the dash, such as to indicate a break in thought, set off parenthetical elements, and emphasize appositives. The document concludes with practice exercises asking the reader to punctuate sentences correctly using hyphens or dashes.

Uploaded by

api-364107972
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HyphenandDashhandout1

JohnsonCountyCommunityCollege

HYPHENandDASH


HYPHEN

Nohyphenisused

whenthecompoundadjectivefollowsthenoun.


Thehighwaywaswellpaved.

whenthefirstwordisanadverbendinginly.


Theneatlycutlawnwasmuchadmired.

Thehyphenisused

tojoincompoundwords.

motherinlaw

tojoinwordsusedasasingleadjectivebeforeanoun.

Itwasawellpavedhighway.

withcompoundnumbersfrom21to99andwithfractions.

twentytwo,fiftyfirst,threefourths(someauthoritieswritethreefourthsno

hyphen),twohundredten

withcompoundadjectivescontainingnumbers.

atenyearoldboy,afortyhourweek,thehundredyarddash,atendollarbill,a
tworoomapartment,twoandthreestoryhouses

toavoidambiguity.

Onesense:Sherecoveredherpillowfromthedog.

Othersense:Sherecoveredherpillowinredsilk.

Misleading:Alongcamefiftyfootsoldiers.

Clear:Alongcamefiftyfootsoldiers.

HyphenandDashhandout2


withprefixesex,self,all,andthesuffixelect.

exPresidentHoover

selfconfidence

allAmerican

SenatorelectSmith


NOTE:Biandtriarenothyphenatedprefixes.
Semiishyphenatedonlywhencombinedwithwordsbeginningwithi
(semiindependence)orwithapropernoun(semiRussian);
otherwise,itisnothyphenated(semiannually,semiprofessional).
UnishyphenatedinunAmerican.

toindicatehesitationorstuttering.

"I'mgggglad,"shesaid.

toindicatethatwordsarespelledout.

"Shewantsadoll,"hermothersaid.

forsyllabication(usehyphensbetweensyllableswhenawordisdividedbetweenlines).
NOTE:Thehyphenisplacedattheendofthefirstline,neveratthebeginningof
thesecondline.Consultadictionaryifyouareuncertainwhereawordis
divided.

Followtheserulesforsyllabication:

Neverdividewordsofonesyllable.

Neverdivideawordsothatasingleletterstandsaloneonaline.

Whendividingacompoundwordthatalreadycontainsahyphen,makethe
breakwherethehyphenoccurs.

Youmaydividewordsbetweendoubleconsonants.

HyphenandDashhandout3

DASH
Adramaticmarkofpunctuation,thedashshouldnotbeusedasacarelesssubstituteforcommas,
periods,orsemicolons.Donotoveruseit.Itiscreatedbyplacingtwohyphensinarow(onthe
computer)withnospacesbeforeorafter.

Thedashisused

toshowasuddenbreakinthought.

I'llgivelet'ssee,whatcanIgive?

NOTE:Omittheperiodorthequestionmarkwhentheexpressionendswitha
dash.

Well,ifthatishowyoufeel

Hebegan,"MayIask"

tosetoffaparentheticalelement.

Hearrivedwouldyoubelieveit?infiveminutes.

Ifoundit'shardtobelieve,butit'struetendollars.

toemphasizeanappositive.

Hehasonlyoneinterestfood.

Teas,dances,blinddatesallareapartofcollege.

ThesubjectsEnglish,history,andsciencearerequired.

NOTE:Thedashessetoffanappositivemoreemphaticallythancommas,which
mayalsobeused.Thecolon,whichisequallyemphatic,hasamore
formalflavorthanthedash.

toprecedetheauthor'snameafteradirectquotation.

"Trueeaseinwritingcomesfromart,notchance."Pope

HyphenandDashhandout4

PracticeExercises

Punctuatethefollowingsentenceswiththecorrectmarkofpunctuation,hyphensordashes.

1.I'llplaywhatcanIplay?

2.Ateightytwo,AuntTillyisstillactive.

3.Tomrentedatworoomapartmentwhilehewasattendingcollege.

4.Jonreceivedafivedollarbillfromhisgrandma.

5.Ineedtobuysomemoreuptodateclothes.

6.Aclearhead,awarmheart,andawillingattitudetheseareessentialattributesforbeing
successful.

7.Gettingtoworkateighto'clockeverymorningIdon'thavetoremindyouhowmuchIhate
gettingupearlyseemedalmostmorethanIcaredtoundertake.

8.Hisfatherinlawdislikesgoingtothebasketballtournament.

9.Thedentistworehishappytoseeyousmile.

10.WewillbeworkingontheprojectuntilmidMay.

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