When do we add an hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?












4















When do we add an hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?



Here's are a few examples:




This is an Xbox-compatible game.



This is a Creation-Kit-compatible 3d asset.



This is a SkyRe-compatible Skyrim mod.




More often than not all these examples are used without a hyphen or hyphens. Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?






hyphens







share|improve this question





























    4















    When do we add an hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?



    Here's are a few examples:




    This is an Xbox-compatible game.



    This is a Creation-Kit-compatible 3d asset.



    This is a SkyRe-compatible Skyrim mod.




    More often than not all these examples are used without a hyphen or hyphens. Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?






    hyphens







    share|improve this question



























      4












      4








      4








      When do we add an hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?



      Here's are a few examples:




      This is an Xbox-compatible game.



      This is a Creation-Kit-compatible 3d asset.



      This is a SkyRe-compatible Skyrim mod.




      More often than not all these examples are used without a hyphen or hyphens. Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?






      hyphens







      share|improve this question
















      When do we add an hyphen (-) to a complex adjective word?



      Here's are a few examples:




      This is an Xbox-compatible game.



      This is a Creation-Kit-compatible 3d asset.



      This is a SkyRe-compatible Skyrim mod.




      More often than not all these examples are used without a hyphen or hyphens. Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?






      hyphens




      hyphens






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 2 hours ago









      Jasper

      18.3k43670




      18.3k43670










      asked 3 hours ago









      repomonsterrepomonster

      1,015116




      1,015116






















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          7














          This is not a question of grammar, but of style. Writers use hyphens with compound adjectives to avoid ambiguity so that the reader does not have to read and re-read a sentence to garner the meaning from it.



          Consider:




          John was a white bearded man.




          Someone might try to parse this sentence at first to mean he was a white man who had a beard.




          John was a white-bearded man.




          This makes it quite clear that John was a man with a white beard, not a white man with a beard.






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

            – repomonster
            3 hours ago






          • 1





            Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

            – Robusto
            3 hours ago











          • "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

            – Jasper
            2 hours ago






          • 1





            @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

            – Robusto
            54 mins ago



















          5














          Robusto's answer is correct, I'm just adding another thought.



          You asked:




          Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?




          Robusto didn't quite address that question head on. While there is a lot of flexibility in punctuation, I would say any professional editor worth his or her salt would correct 'white bearded' to 'white-bearded'. Leaving out the hyphen is not optional.



          Yes, in informal contexts, writers very often leave out the hyphens, either because they are unsure how to use them, or they forget. But that's not the same as saying they are optional. They are making a mistake which can lead to misunderstandings, and knowing how and why to use hyphens in compound adjectives places you at an advantage.



          Finally, often with punctuation, we say "well, it doesn't exist in spoken English, so is it really required?"



          But in spoken English there is an audible difference between




          The white, bearded man.




          and




          The white-bearded man.




          It's subtle, but it's there, and it makes all the difference to the interpretation of the sentence.






          share|improve this answer























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            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes








            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            7














            This is not a question of grammar, but of style. Writers use hyphens with compound adjectives to avoid ambiguity so that the reader does not have to read and re-read a sentence to garner the meaning from it.



            Consider:




            John was a white bearded man.




            Someone might try to parse this sentence at first to mean he was a white man who had a beard.




            John was a white-bearded man.




            This makes it quite clear that John was a man with a white beard, not a white man with a beard.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 1





              So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

              – repomonster
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

              – Robusto
              3 hours ago











            • "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

              – Jasper
              2 hours ago






            • 1





              @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

              – Robusto
              54 mins ago
















            7














            This is not a question of grammar, but of style. Writers use hyphens with compound adjectives to avoid ambiguity so that the reader does not have to read and re-read a sentence to garner the meaning from it.



            Consider:




            John was a white bearded man.




            Someone might try to parse this sentence at first to mean he was a white man who had a beard.




            John was a white-bearded man.




            This makes it quite clear that John was a man with a white beard, not a white man with a beard.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 1





              So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

              – repomonster
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

              – Robusto
              3 hours ago











            • "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

              – Jasper
              2 hours ago






            • 1





              @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

              – Robusto
              54 mins ago














            7












            7








            7







            This is not a question of grammar, but of style. Writers use hyphens with compound adjectives to avoid ambiguity so that the reader does not have to read and re-read a sentence to garner the meaning from it.



            Consider:




            John was a white bearded man.




            Someone might try to parse this sentence at first to mean he was a white man who had a beard.




            John was a white-bearded man.




            This makes it quite clear that John was a man with a white beard, not a white man with a beard.






            share|improve this answer















            This is not a question of grammar, but of style. Writers use hyphens with compound adjectives to avoid ambiguity so that the reader does not have to read and re-read a sentence to garner the meaning from it.



            Consider:




            John was a white bearded man.




            Someone might try to parse this sentence at first to mean he was a white man who had a beard.




            John was a white-bearded man.




            This makes it quite clear that John was a man with a white beard, not a white man with a beard.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 3 hours ago

























            answered 3 hours ago









            RobustoRobusto

            12k22941




            12k22941








            • 1





              So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

              – repomonster
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

              – Robusto
              3 hours ago











            • "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

              – Jasper
              2 hours ago






            • 1





              @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

              – Robusto
              54 mins ago














            • 1





              So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

              – repomonster
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

              – Robusto
              3 hours ago











            • "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

              – Jasper
              2 hours ago






            • 1





              @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

              – Robusto
              54 mins ago








            1




            1





            So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

            – repomonster
            3 hours ago





            So both can mean the same thing, but the other is more precise in its meaning?

            – repomonster
            3 hours ago




            1




            1





            Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

            – Robusto
            3 hours ago





            Yes. Consider hyphenating compound adjectives as providing a courtesy to your readers.

            – Robusto
            3 hours ago













            "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

            – Jasper
            2 hours ago





            "John was a white-bearded man" does not rule out the possibility that John was a white man with a white beard.

            – Jasper
            2 hours ago




            1




            1





            @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

            – Robusto
            54 mins ago





            @Jasper: That is irrelevant. The statement does not rule that out, nor does it rule out that he is a criminal or a spendthrift or an asthmatic. The only facts that can be determined from the statement involve his having a white beard. That is unambiguous, and it is everything that modest statement hoped to accomplish.

            – Robusto
            54 mins ago













            5














            Robusto's answer is correct, I'm just adding another thought.



            You asked:




            Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?




            Robusto didn't quite address that question head on. While there is a lot of flexibility in punctuation, I would say any professional editor worth his or her salt would correct 'white bearded' to 'white-bearded'. Leaving out the hyphen is not optional.



            Yes, in informal contexts, writers very often leave out the hyphens, either because they are unsure how to use them, or they forget. But that's not the same as saying they are optional. They are making a mistake which can lead to misunderstandings, and knowing how and why to use hyphens in compound adjectives places you at an advantage.



            Finally, often with punctuation, we say "well, it doesn't exist in spoken English, so is it really required?"



            But in spoken English there is an audible difference between




            The white, bearded man.




            and




            The white-bearded man.




            It's subtle, but it's there, and it makes all the difference to the interpretation of the sentence.






            share|improve this answer




























              5














              Robusto's answer is correct, I'm just adding another thought.



              You asked:




              Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?




              Robusto didn't quite address that question head on. While there is a lot of flexibility in punctuation, I would say any professional editor worth his or her salt would correct 'white bearded' to 'white-bearded'. Leaving out the hyphen is not optional.



              Yes, in informal contexts, writers very often leave out the hyphens, either because they are unsure how to use them, or they forget. But that's not the same as saying they are optional. They are making a mistake which can lead to misunderstandings, and knowing how and why to use hyphens in compound adjectives places you at an advantage.



              Finally, often with punctuation, we say "well, it doesn't exist in spoken English, so is it really required?"



              But in spoken English there is an audible difference between




              The white, bearded man.




              and




              The white-bearded man.




              It's subtle, but it's there, and it makes all the difference to the interpretation of the sentence.






              share|improve this answer


























                5












                5








                5







                Robusto's answer is correct, I'm just adding another thought.



                You asked:




                Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?




                Robusto didn't quite address that question head on. While there is a lot of flexibility in punctuation, I would say any professional editor worth his or her salt would correct 'white bearded' to 'white-bearded'. Leaving out the hyphen is not optional.



                Yes, in informal contexts, writers very often leave out the hyphens, either because they are unsure how to use them, or they forget. But that's not the same as saying they are optional. They are making a mistake which can lead to misunderstandings, and knowing how and why to use hyphens in compound adjectives places you at an advantage.



                Finally, often with punctuation, we say "well, it doesn't exist in spoken English, so is it really required?"



                But in spoken English there is an audible difference between




                The white, bearded man.




                and




                The white-bearded man.




                It's subtle, but it's there, and it makes all the difference to the interpretation of the sentence.






                share|improve this answer













                Robusto's answer is correct, I'm just adding another thought.



                You asked:




                Is this a case of people making a grammatical mistake or are both forms completely correct and it's just a matter of preference?




                Robusto didn't quite address that question head on. While there is a lot of flexibility in punctuation, I would say any professional editor worth his or her salt would correct 'white bearded' to 'white-bearded'. Leaving out the hyphen is not optional.



                Yes, in informal contexts, writers very often leave out the hyphens, either because they are unsure how to use them, or they forget. But that's not the same as saying they are optional. They are making a mistake which can lead to misunderstandings, and knowing how and why to use hyphens in compound adjectives places you at an advantage.



                Finally, often with punctuation, we say "well, it doesn't exist in spoken English, so is it really required?"



                But in spoken English there is an audible difference between




                The white, bearded man.




                and




                The white-bearded man.




                It's subtle, but it's there, and it makes all the difference to the interpretation of the sentence.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 3 hours ago









                fred2fred2

                2,896718




                2,896718






























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