3 Cases of Superfluous Hyphenation

3 Cases of Superfluous Hyphenation 3 Cases of Superfluous Hyphenation 3 Cases of Superfluous Hyphenation By Mark Nichol The oft-misunderstood hyphen is often left out of a phrase because of confusion about (or ignorance of) its purpose; occasionally, perplexity about the hyphen’s function is the cause of extraneous use, as shown in the examples below. 1. The mother-of-two said she had never seen anything like it before. The simple descriptive phrase that provides more detail about the person requires no hyphenation: â€Å"The mother of two said she had never seen anything like it before.† Specifically, mother is hyphenated in a phrase only in rare instances of noun phrases such as mother-in-law and mother-of-pearl. 2. The rail authority originally planned to build from Burbank-to-Los Angeles before connecting the Central Valley to San Francisco. Phrases describing starting points and destinations are not generally hyphenated: â€Å"The rail authority originally planned to build from Burbank to Los Angeles before connecting the Central Valley to San Francisco.† (An exception is when the phrase is a phrasal adjective modifying a noun: â€Å"The rail authority originally planned a Burbank–to–Los Angeles line before connecting the Central Valley to San Francisco†; here, en dashes are used instead of hyphens because at least one of the terms in the range consists of more than one word.) 3. Tasting menus range from $215 for five-courses and $255 for seven-courses at lunch to $325 for nine-courses at dinner. Phrases in which a number serves as an adjective modifying a noun are not hyphenated: Tasting menus range from $215 for five courses and $255 for seven courses at lunch to $325 for nine courses at dinner. (Again, hyphens are appropriate in phrasal adjectives; here, an adjective and a noun combine to hyphenate a noun: â€Å"Tasting menus range from $215 for a five-course lunch and $255 for a seven-course lunch to $325 for a nine-course dinner.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating ConjunctionsFlier vs. FlyerQuiet or Quite?