What is a Hyphen?
A hyphen is a type of punctuation used to join two or more words that work together to form a combined meaning.
Examples of Hyphens
Some examples of hyphens would be the following:
With numbers over twenty:
We ate twenty-two pizzas.
She owned forty-seven cats.
I only had ninety-four cents in my pocket.
With compound nouns:
His sister-in-law was staying with us.
Their child is a four-year-old.
That coffee was a good pick-me-up.
With compound adjectives:
The check-in time is not until this afternoon.
That was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation!
Their house had a two-car garage.
Why You Should Use Hyphens in Your Writing
The primary reason to use hyphens is for clarity and to avoid confusion in your writing. Consider the following examples in which hyphens help to clarify your writing:
re-cover (to cover something again)
recover (to regain consciousness or awareness)
re-sign (to sign again)
resign (to withdraw oneself from something)
light-blue shirt (a shirt that is colored light blue)
light blue shirt (a shirt that is colored blue and light in weight)
three-year-old cars (cars that have three years of age)
three year-old cars (three cars that have one year of age)
Finally, be sure you understand the difference between hyphens and dashes. They look similar to each other, but they have completely different functions.
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