This post is for anyone willing to improve a little, to become better understood.
Bwilk55 wrote this recently:
Forgive me, Bwilk55, but who sees the mistakes?
We have a missing comma and a missing hyphen in the first sentence. Because of that, it's ambiguous.
What is it:
This "-" punctuation is called a hyphen. It has zero to do with Fentanyl overdoses. It isn't another name for a dash, either.
A hyphen is a single line connecting words to show that they go together.
When to Use:
As we've seen, you need a hyphen whenever not using a hyphen leads to an ambiguity, such as when a word could be connected with the prior word, or the following one.
Whenever you have 2+ words that function as an adjective, and are used before the noun, you need a hyphen between them. That's called a compound adjective. Examples:
*Many would view the adjective "no-good" in "no-good Sooner" as redundant. "Sooner" is sufficient to describe the majority of them.
Don't worry, I don't plan any more lessons. So this thread can drift to the bottom of the list and onto page 2 right about... now.
Bwilk55 wrote this recently:
I think most of our replacements on defense are elite less experienced players replacing guys who were experienced but not elite players.
Forgive me, Bwilk55, but who sees the mistakes?
We have a missing comma and a missing hyphen in the first sentence. Because of that, it's ambiguous.
- Are the replacements elite-less, but experienced?
- Or are they elite, but less-experienced?
What is it:
This "-" punctuation is called a hyphen. It has zero to do with Fentanyl overdoses. It isn't another name for a dash, either.
A hyphen is a single line connecting words to show that they go together.
When to Use:
As we've seen, you need a hyphen whenever not using a hyphen leads to an ambiguity, such as when a word could be connected with the prior word, or the following one.
Whenever you have 2+ words that function as an adjective, and are used before the noun, you need a hyphen between them. That's called a compound adjective. Examples:
- Off-campus dorm
- State-of-the-art design
- well-ventilated brain
- no-good Sooner*
- His fake to the halfback and gliding moves past defenders were as well-timed as they were athletic and graceful. (Versus well-timed moves.)
- The children of the actresses were obviously well-connected. (Versus well-connected children.)
- The dorm was off campus.
- This Sooner was no good.*
*Many would view the adjective "no-good" in "no-good Sooner" as redundant. "Sooner" is sufficient to describe the majority of them.
Don't worry, I don't plan any more lessons. So this thread can drift to the bottom of the list and onto page 2 right about... now.