Grammar Tips: Hyphens and ages
Hey all, Robin here. I don't have a blog myself (maybe I need one) so I'm hijacking Michael's. I want to do a series of posts on editing...I'm doing a lot of editing these days and I'm always learning something new and thought I would pass on what I find interesting.
Today, I want to discuss a when you use hyphens in ages. For instance is it "twelve-year-old" or "twelve year old."
The answer depends on if the phrasal adjective comes before or after the noun.
When before the noun: use hyphensWhen after the noun: no hyphensThat's all fine and good but I had a bigger problem, what if you are using the phrase as a noun rather than an adjective. This came up because of the following sentence in Michael's new novel, The Death of Dulgath.
Well, as it turns out you do hyphenate it. If you want to learn more on the subject, I recommend this post on the Grammarist site.
Hope it helps someone. If nothing else, it'll provide a nice bookmark for me the next time my old brain can't remember how to handle hyphens and ages.
Today, I want to discuss a when you use hyphens in ages. For instance is it "twelve-year-old" or "twelve year old."
The answer depends on if the phrasal adjective comes before or after the noun.
When before the noun: use hyphensWhen after the noun: no hyphensThat's all fine and good but I had a bigger problem, what if you are using the phrase as a noun rather than an adjective. This came up because of the following sentence in Michael's new novel, The Death of Dulgath.
My mother had all the creativity of an eight-year-old with a spotted puppy.
Well, as it turns out you do hyphenate it. If you want to learn more on the subject, I recommend this post on the Grammarist site.
Hope it helps someone. If nothing else, it'll provide a nice bookmark for me the next time my old brain can't remember how to handle hyphens and ages.
No comments have been added yet.
