Prefixes and suffixes are short words that are added to a root word to form a new word. Using a hyphen with prefixes and suffixes Over time, hyphenated compound words can become so commonplace that they eventually lose the need for the hyphen.Ī example of when this happened recently is with the word “Wi-Fi.” The original compound word had a hyphen, but as it became more and more prevalent, it lost the hyphen (and the capital letters) to become the more familiar “wifi.”Īn older example of this phenomenon is with the word “tomorrow.” “Tomorrow” is familiar to us as a single word without a hyphen, but until as late as the 1950s it was actually spelled with a hyphen: “to-morrow.” Over time, the hyphen disappeared from the spelling. The new word will combine the meanings of the individual root words. Just use it in place of a space between those words. You can use a hyphen to create a compound word out of two or more different words. When to use a hyphen in a sentenceĪ hyphen is used between two or more different words to create a new compound word, or to join a word to a prefix or suffix. Most modern keyboards have a hyphen key, but they don’t have an en dash or em dash key. A hyphen implies a combined meaning or the division of a word it can also indicate an implied word to follow. What’s a hyphen?Ī hyphen (-) is a short horizontal punctuation mark that’s most often used to join different words together. But a dash typically signals a pause or a range between two things. Their appearance isn’t the only difference between the hyphen and the dash: they actually convey different meanings to readers.Ī hyphen connects parts of a word, or several different words, to form a hyphenated compound word with a blended meaning. You can spot a hyphen (-) because it’s shorter than an en dash (–) or em dash (-). Sometimes, the word “hyphen” is used interchangeably with the word “dash.” But they’re actually separate punctuation marks. Let’s explore the hyphen and the different kinds of dashes. But knowing the difference between a hyphen and a dash, as well as the different types of dashes, like the en dash and the em dash, is critical to clear, direct writing.ĭashes and hyphens are used for many different things: to join different words together, to indicate inclusion, to create an aside, or even to mimic the cadence of spoken language. Hyphens and dashes are two of the most difficult punctuation marks to tell apart.
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