Rule 6. Rule 4. Will she recover from her illness? However, some established compound adjectives are always hyphenated. The hyphen is also used when a word must be broken at the end of a line and in the formation of compound words like self-reliant and up-to-date. Incorrect: the very-elegant watch Some familiar phrases may require hyphens. upper-right or lower-right corner, If you use a suspended compound modifier, include a hyphen with both adjectives. Never hesitate to add a hyphen if it solves a possible problem. Rule 10. Compounds with well, ill, better, best, little, lesser, and so on are hyphenated when they precede the noun, unless the expression includes another modifier: Compounds like off-campus and part-time should be hyphenated when they precede the word they modify; do not hyphenate when they are adverbial: In fractions, use a hyphen whether the compound is a noun or an adjective: With mixed numbers (integer and fraction), hyphenate the adjective form but not the noun form: Compounds in which the second element consists of more than one word are hyphenated.
Instead, spell out the entire phrase. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time (years, months, weeks, days) is written in plural form:

For a comprehensive guide to Chicago’s hyphenation policy, consult the Chicago Manual of Style hyphenation table in section 7.59. When a compound adjective follows a noun, a hyphen is usually not necessary. I must re-press the shirt. a twentieth-century throwback. You should use hyphens when the phrase appears as an adjectival phrase—just as you would any compound modifier—for example, The Cherokee-style headdress was quite impressive. Jobs on campus are usually filled by now. When using numbers, hyphenate spans or estimates of time, distance, or other quantities. reenter mid-July. Check The American Heritage Dictionary if you're not sure whether the word ending in -ly is an adverb. Note: Most publishers use the slightly longer en dash instead of a hyphen in this situation. Omitting the hyphen would cause confusion with repress. Suffixes form new words or alter the original word to perform a different task. Rule 1. With the exception of proper nouns (such as United States) and compounds formed by an adverb ending in “ly” plus an adjective, it is never incorrect to hyphenate adjectival compounds before a noun. Use a hyphen with the prefix re when omitting the hyphen would cause confusion with another word.

Example A suffix (y, er, ism, able, etc.) Hyphens' main purpose is to glue words together. A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. 1999–2016 Copyright by Jane Straus/GrammarBook.com. While most of our site should function with out, we recommend turning it back on for a better experience. Example Examples Example: Sir Winthrop Heinz-Eakins will attend. Chicago now often recommends closing up words with prefixes and removing the hyphen, only recommending using it to separate two repeated vowels (as in re-educate), to avoid confusion with another word (re-creation/recreation), or to prevent misreading (anti-utopian, co-edition, pro-choice, pro-democracy, pro-life, pro-regent). re-elect.
Rule 4. The Chicago Manual of Style provides an exhaustive guide to the often-confusing hyphen. Correct: She is an Academy Award nominee. Examples The word prefix itself contains the prefix pre. Hyphens are joiners. Double-check with a dictionary or online. They usually aren't necessary. Many viruses are memory-resident. Following are two examples of well-advised hyphens: Confusing: Springfield has little town charm. In compound words that precede and modify a noun as a unit, don’t hyphenate: Very, when it precedes another modifier. Generally, hyphenate two or more words when they come before a noun they modify and act as a single idea. Omitting the hyphen would cause confusion with recover. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time (years, months, weeks, days) is written in plural form: With hyphens: She acquired most of her experience on the job. (Because years is plural. Examples The text is left aligned. Examples: This rule applies only to adverbs. Examples: