Needless to say, people seem to be using hyphens less. Written without jargon for all of us who need simple answers to our everyday questions, this new, updated version has 50% more materialrules, exercises, tests, and answersand a new cover that is both sleek and durable. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. Jan 22, 2014 the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. He was twentyfive, but my grandfather lived to one hundred five a number paired with a noun will be hyphenated before the noun it modifies, but open after. You are most likely thinking of the rule from our hyphens with numbers blog, which states, when youre combining two or more words to form a compound adjective in front of a noun, put hyphens between these words. They are different from dashes, which are used for parenthesis or to extend a sentence. Is it 80page long, or 80 pagelong, or 80 pages long, or. The rules about the usage of hyphens are very complicated. Punctuation, capitalization, and writing numbers pretest. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards.
Jane straus presents an introduction to english grammar and punctuation, covering such topics as subject and verb agreement, the correct use of prepositions, homonyms, hyphens, and quotation marks, and the rules. The blue book of grammar and punctuation succeeds at a rare feat. However, a hyphen is not required if the number is the second word in the compound adjective. How to write numbers grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Print a hyphen between the elements of compound numbers from twentyone to. Nov 17, 2015 the guardian and observer style guide. Round numbers higher than ninetynine dont require a hyphen. When numbers are used as the first part of a compound adjective, use a hyphen to connect them to the noun that follows them. All units of measurement retain their singular form when they are compounded to form hyphenated adjectives before other nouns. The grammar rules for writing numbers can be confusing.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition pages. Brackets 34 parentheses 34 brackets 35 apostrophes 36 hyphens 40 hyphens. There are probably fist fights or fistfights outside grammar conventions over the use of hyphens because grammarians can argue like threeyearolds. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition. Jul 27, 2010 when numbers are not used as compound adjectives preceding nouns, dont use a hyphen. Hyphens with numbers worldleading language solutions by. But remember, all twoword numbers from twentyone to ninetynine must be hyphenated in all cases. According to the chicago manual of style, the numbers twentyone through twentynine, thirtyone through thirtynine, and so on, are hyphenated, whether used alone or as part of a larger number. While writing numbers, sometimes we use figures or digits and sometimes we write out the number in words. Numbers in series and statistics should be consistent. Jane straus, foremost expert, answers your burning english grammar and punctuation questions. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. Jane straus is the author of the blue book of grammar and punctuation and developer of. Our post hyphens with numbers offers a more thorough explanation.
Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. Hyphens advanced level quiz 2 from the blue book of grammar and punctuation. While the rules may sometimes seem contradictory, the most. Whom, that, which contents ix writing numbersquiz 2 1 punctuation. Note, too, that a modifying phrase referring to color. Marcias friend mark notes that hyphens seem to be disappearing. Except for a few basic rules, spelling out numbers vs. How to use hyphens grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Hyphens are a regular source of confusion among grammar girl listeners. All it takes is the blue book of grammar and punctuation.
And is correct three hundred and fortytwo 342 three hundred point fortytwo 300. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. Use a hyphen in compound numbers between twentyone and ninetynine and when used in larger numbers like two hundred fiftyfive. The first 60 pages of the book contain the most common rules of grammar and punctuation. Its extremely well organized, ensuring that readers can quickly locate a required topic. When writing a compound numberany number made up of two wordswe use a hyphen between each word. Hyphens are often used to tell the ages of people and things. To see where to divide words look in a good dictionary. The chicago manual of style recommends spelling out the numbers zero through one hundred and using figures thereafterexcept for whole numbers used in combination with hundred, thousand, hundred thousand, million, billion, and beyond e. Hyphenation with numbers and units of measure grammar. Most often, you will hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a single idea. For anyone who wants to understand the major rules and subtle guidelines of english grammar and usage, the blue book of grammar and punctuation offers comprehensive, straightforward instruction. Hyphens and dashes between numbers this page is about when to use hyphens and dashes between numbers.
Hyphens english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. Hyphenate all compound numbers from twentyone through ninetynine. Compound numbers 6 quizzes 76 grammar pretest 76 finding subjects and verbsquiz 1 78. In your example sentence, the numbers one thousand and four hundred are numbers that are not hyphenated.
An example would be a onethousandfourhundredtwentypage book. This applies to any number between twentyone 21 and ninetynine 99. Researching this article, i found many different opinions. Compound adjectives require hyphens whether they are expressed as words or numerals. The term 5,010squarefoot is a compound adjective describing the word parcel. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to real. I am sincerely grateful to have found the website and its invaluable learning tools. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of hyphens and gives examples of hyphens used in sentences. A suit that is dark blue referring to degree of saturation is a dark blue suit, and a suit that is blue gray identifying a combination of colors is a blue gray suit. Personally, im with the above hyphenate all compound numbers between twentyone and ninetynine. To see the entire contents of the blue book of grammar and punc. Hyphens advanced level quiz 2 the blue book of grammar. Rule for adding and or hyphens between numbers that are.
Hyphens with numbers jane straus is the author of the blue book of grammar and punctuation and developer of should you write feet or feet. Two hundred fiftysix hyphen between tens and units only. Here is a quick overview of the rules for writing numbers. Topics include subject and verb agreement, pronouns, modifying parts of speech, problems with prepositions, fragments, commas, semicolons, parentheses, hyphens, dashes, capitalization, writing numbers, and much morebasically all the grammar rules you need. Hyphens are also used to separate the parts of a long word at the end of a written or printed line. When to use words for numbers and when to use figures is a style choice. Note that you do not use an and between any of the numbers as that would indicate a decimal point. Colors are supposed to follow the basic hyphenation rule. Grammarians often do not agree on when to use hyphens. X1g444453eqw334qplo4 2 when writing numbers in full. But cms and ap have some additional considerations that complicate things a bit.
A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. Rule 6 when using numbers, hyphenate spans or estimates of time, distance, or other quantities. Numbers the writers principal concern with numbers is knowing when to figure them and when to write them, and while errors in this respect are rarely as serious as errors of punctuation, certain conventions have been established for ease of reading. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide. Daily grammar lesson 416 mechanics punctuation hyphens. Jan 01, 1997 the blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules, realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests.
As with most other phrasal adjectives, pairs of words that together describe the color of an object should be hyphenated. Although it is often the case that hyphenated compound words eventually lose. You dont have to be an english master to understand punctuation and sentence structure. Ive been a technical writer for about 7 years, and jane straus the blue book of grammar and punctuation is the best reference ive found. No one writing handbook or grammar guide should suffice for careful writers, and though jane strauss the blue book of grammar and punctuation is less comprehensive than some other resources, its largeformat workbook approach provides a readerfriendly introduction to the intricacies of proper prose straus was still a college student when she began her career as a writing consultant for.
If the number and noun construction does not have a noun. No one writing handbook or grammar guide should suffice for careful writers, and though jane strauss the blue book of grammar and punctuation is less comprehensive than some other resources, its largeformat workbook approach provides a readerfriendly introduction to the intricacies of proper prose. Numbers written out using hyphens use a hyphen between the tens and units number when writing out the numbers twentyone to ninetynine in words. In most cases, you use a hyphen with the words, so youd write twothirds and threequarters. Hyphens are used in compound adjectives and compound nouns.
This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of grammar, punctuation, and usage. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to reallife, entertaining examples. The proper use of good and well in writing is a common grammatical topic. Every generation of english scholars despairs because the language appears to. However, given that the hyphen is so easy to find on a keyboard, hyphens have become acceptable for ranges.
Hyphens between words quiz 1 the blue book of grammar. Its longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Hyphens can be used to chop apart a word at the end of a sentence, but do not leave a single letter on the previous or next line. Ordinal numbers such as thirtyfirst, seventysecond need hyphens also. Daily grammar lesson 421 mechanics punctuation hyphens. An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes, 11th edition.
Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a chapter on easily confused words from affecteffect to whetherif. Quite a few style guides including ours suggest using words for the numbers one to ten, and figures for 11 and up. When you are combining two or more words to form a compound adjective in front of a noun, put hyphens between these words a 33page book. An equally slippery subject is whether to hyphenate well when it helps describe a noun. However, style guides still differ once we go beyond simple fractions. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence. Only a very strict grammar pedant would pull you up for using hyphens. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is an easytouse reference guide and workbook and lives up to its description. Roxanne thank you so much for your weekly enewsletters with such wonderful tips. When numbers are not used as compound adjectives preceding nouns, dont use a hyphen the book contains only 33 pages. Attractively designed and wellwritten, the book is indeed a good attempt to demystify the intricacies of grammar and punctuation. The number twentyfive is always hyphenated regardless of how it is used in a sentence.
In this lesson, we will look at rules, exceptions and different accepted styles. Since four feet six inches is not in front of a noun, you do not need to hyphenate. Nov 03, 2010 hyphens are also used to separate the parts of a long word at the end of a written or printed line. For example, do we write a welldressed man or a well dressed man because well here is an adverb that modifies dressed, some might say not to. The blue book of grammar and punctuation will amuse you while demystifying the rules of grammar and punctuation. When measurements are not acting as adjectives, hyphens are not needed. Sep 16, 20 do not use spaces inside hyphenated words unless it is a hanging hyphen. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. The runner did a nose dive into the dirt a mere fortyfour and twentytwo one hundredths from the finish line.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes jane straus tenth edition r 100,000. With over 200,000 copies sold, this is one of the most highly trusted english language resources available. Jan 10, 2012 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. One thing that literature would be greatly the better for. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughterinlaw in theabove example, it is known as the oxford comma.
Hyphens between words quiz 1 the blue book of grammar and. Hyphens between numbers hyphens are used between numbers. Hyphens english grammar today cambridge dictionary. Since i thought the hyphen section of marcia riefer johnstons new book, word up. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. Generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together. Blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th ed jane straus. Number english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary.
May 31, 2012 first, you have what some sources call the simple fractions. The blue book of grammar and punctuation by jane straus. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time years, months, weeks, days is written in plural form. Rules for writing numbers the blue book of grammar and. Hyphen in compound adjective with numbers grammarly. The rule in our blog writing numbers as adjectives says, generally, hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a single idea. It doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation. Use a hyphen in compounds made up of two or more words used as an adjective adjectives modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. This applies whether the number is written in words or in digits. The blue book grammar and punctuation pdf download in its 11th version right now, the blue book of punctuation and sentence structure will assist you create and talk with disadvantage.
Concepts are described in clear and simple phrases, and backed up with examples one would find in everyday language. A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple series, apparently feeling its unnecessary. Whenever someone asks for a good book on grammar, i recommend the blue book of grammar and punctuation. All compound numbers from twentyone through ninetynine are hyphenated. Sep 05, 2011 10 fractions with hyphenated numeratorswhen part of a fraction is already hyphenated, do not hyphenate it further, or the readers eyes will cross. This handy workbook is ideal for teachers, students in middle school through college, esl students, homeschoolers, and professionals. There is no such thing as american english, there is english and there is wrong. In your physics example, 450 is simply a number, not part of a compound adjective. Elsewhere, units are pluralized as necessary, but not if the quantity or number is less than one. This way, the reader knows that both words function like a unit to modify another noun.
54 78 1499 800 1292 275 1418 632 421 558 1065 179 685 542 203 309 1069 720 1366 1007 620 915 697 224 95 692 1402 509 96 1102 1410 1151 100 544 1177