User:David Kernow/Internet sources re hyphens and adverbs

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http://www.oup.com/uk/booksites/content/0199296251/essentials/punctuationtips/ (Oxford University Press)

8. Hyphens

One of the main uses of the hyphen is to join two or more words to make a compound word, showing that the words have a combined meaning:

mother-in-law
pick-me-up
hard-hearted

TIP: with compound adjectives such as well known or first class, use a hyphen when the compound comes before the noun:

well-known brands of coffee
a first-class seat

but not when the compound comes after the noun:

brands of coffee that are well known in Britain
a seat in first class


9. Hyphens

See Tip 8 above for more about hyphens and compounds.

TIP: don't use a hyphen between an adverb ending in -ly and a linked adjective, even when they come before the noun:

Many schools offer summer supply teaching to newly appointed staff.
We can offer highly competitive rates to benefit your business.


10. Hyphens

TIP: don't put a hyphen between parts of verbs made up of more than one word (called phrasal verbs), such as set up, let down, or cut off:

The proposal is to set up a local lettings agency in the town centre.
She's been let down by her colleagues.
Our escape route was cut off.

But when a phrasal verb is made into a noun, such as set-up, let-down, or cut-off, then you should use a hyphen:

The authors take readers through the set-up and configuration of sixteen projects.
The film's music is another big let-down.
The US announced a cut-off of economic assistance.


http://www.northeastern.edu/toolkit/messaging/style11.html (Northeastern University)

...Do not use a hyphen to link an adverb that ends in -ly with the word it modifies; the -ly itself signifies a linkage.
Ell Scholars are highly motivated students.

But do use a hyphen to link an adjective that ends in -ly with the word it modifies.
She is a matronly-looking woman.


http://www.bartleby.com/64/84.html (American Hertiage Book of English Usage)

...Compound adjectives formed with an adverb plus an adjective or a participle are often hyphenated when they occur before the noun they modify: a well-known actor, an ill-advised move, best-loved poems, a much-improved situation, the so-called cure. However, when these compounds occur after the noun, or when they are modified, the hyphen is usually omitted: the actor is well known; an extremely well known actor.

If the adverb ends in -ly in an adverb-adjective compound, the hyphen is omitted: a finely tuned mechanism, a carefully worked canvas.


http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/jbednar/writingtips.html (Tips for Formal Writing)

...Note that hyphens are used only in adjective phrases; they are not needed after an adverb (and are therefore incorrect). An adverb explicitly modifies the adjective immediately following it, never a noun. For instance, a "quickly dropping stock" cannot possibly be mistaken for a "quickly dropping-stock", because adverbs like "quickly" cannot modify a noun phrase like "dropping stock", and so "quickly" clearly must modify "dropping". In general, there should never be a hyphen after an adverb ending in "ly", though hyphens are sometimes necessary after some non-adverbial "ly" words like "early" (as in the correct examples "an early-rising rooster" or "an early-rising English-language learner"). You may want to search through your finished document for "ly-"; nearly all examples of those three characters in a row will be mistakes.


http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/writing/spelling.htm#Hyphens

Hyphenated words

There are no simple rules governing the use of hyphens (un-coordinated, well-written, etc.), so judgment and common sense are required. Many scientific journals, especially in the USA, discourage the use of even well-chosen hyphenated words. But imagine that last sentence without the hyphen; you would have a string of descriptive words (even, well, chosen, hyphenated) to sort out for yourself.

In general, hyphens should be used only to avoid confusion of meaning. For example:

  • a walking-stick certainly is different from a walking stick, but a reader is unlikely to be confused if you miss out the hyphen;
  • it is normal to write ninety-first (and similar) instead of ninety first;
  • it makes sense to use hyphens for compound adjectives (e.g. a gorse-covered hill, a well-chosen site, a time-limited offer);
  • the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line is different from the Edinburgh Glasgow line;
  • a black-backed jackal is different from a black backed jackal (which must be black all over, as well as having a back)
  • it is usual to hyphenate when a noun is used as an adjective (e.g. tooth-decay, mountain-bike);
  • the prefix 'non-' is often hyphenated (e.g. non-usable, non-stick, non-smoker) but 'un-' is usually non-hyphenated (unusable, unstuck, unexciting);
  • times such as 9 o' clock (9 of the clock) should not be hyphenated;
  • you might be alarmed if you read in your coursebook the instruction "Tonight you should look up the rectum" - even if that is technically correct, it would be sensible to hyphenate (look-up) the compound verb (to look up, meaning to consult)!

Advice: Instead of using hyphens, think about joining the words together if this seems reasonable. For example, a web site (or web-site) could equally well be a website. If you type 'website' in a Windows program (which, incidentally, is the proper spelling of programme when you are referring to computers) then the Spelling Tool will tell you it is wrong. But it will be the norm in 5 years time. Wake up, Bill Gates!


http://ess.nrcan.gc.ca/pubs/scipub/guide/punct/hyphen_e.php (Natural Resources Canada)

Do not hyphenate the following:

...

5. if the adverb in a compound adjective cannot be misread as an adjective modifying the noun (the use of hyphens with adverbs ending in ly and with the adverb well are the most common errors):

all too complacent attitude
highly shattered rock
carefully prepared samples
poorly defined hypothesis
equally productive means
well developed feature (disagree!)
glacially eroded landscape
well known author (disagree!)
thinly bedded limestone (prefer thin-bedded limestone)
westerly draining rivers
northerly trending faults


6. if the compound adjective is preceded by an adverb modifying the first word of the compound:

a reasonably tall growing tree
but a tall-growing tree


http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/stylesheet.htm (US Dept of State)

Compound Words and Hyphenation

To quote the New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage, "No dictionary can list all the possible combinations of adverbs, adjectives, participles, and nouns that can be used as modifiers….The U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual offers 52 rules and a list of 9,000 words."

...

  • Compounds that are used as modifiers may have a hyphen inserted between the unit modifiers to aid readability. The hyphens are not essential. Too much use of the hyphen can be a distraction.
  • Use the hyphen to improve clarity and readability. For example, look at the compound old furniture dealer. The use of a hyphen could clarify the meaning old-furniture dealer, meaning a dealer who works with old furniture. The phrase old furniture dealer without the use of a hyphen could refer to the dealer’s age.
  • Most modifiers formed with a present or past participle should be hyphenated when they fall before the noun: agreed-upon rules, law-abiding citizen, bed-ridden patient.
  • Other combinations of adverbs, adjectives, and nouns are also traditionally hyphenated when they fall before the noun: part-time employee, high-speed train, state-of-the-art methodology.

...

  • Do not hyphenate compounds formed with words ending in –ly that are used as modifiers: radically new idea, partially built house, oddly shaped head.

...

  • Only two prefixes are usually hyphenated: self- and quasi-. The prefix ex- is hyphenated with titles and occupational descriptions: ex-president, ex-professor, ex-chief.
  • The following prefixes are used without hyphens unless (1) they are combined with a capitalized word or (2) there is a possibility of two meanings or mispronunciation (e.g., un-ionized and unionized, re-creation and recreation, multi-ply and multiply):

after fore meso post tri

ante hyper micro pre ultra

anti hypo mis pro un

bi in mono pseudo under

by infra multi re

co inter neo semi

contra intra non step

de intro off sub

demi iso out super

extra macro over trans


http://www.nyu.edu/classes/copyXediting/Hyphens.html (New York University)

....

Adjective forms

1. NEVER hyphenate an adverb to an adjective. Adverbs ending -ly + adjective or participle are always spelled open: highly developed species, poorly understood work, dimly lit room, gravely ill child


http://community.webtv.net/solis-boo/Grammar2/page9.html ("Armchair Punctuator")

...

Adverbs In Compound Modifiers

When the adverb in an adverb-adjective compound ends in -ly, the hyphen is omitted. Also, when the first two elements of a three word compound modifier are adverbs, the hyphen is omitted.