Victo Posted 13 years agoGrammar
Hyphens and suspensions
No recasts, please.
I say 100% correct to all examples below, yes?
1. a 10 percent–off coupon
Percents are an open compound. Use an n-dash, not a hyphen, between "percent" and "off".
2. a 22-percent-a-year increase
(Three hyphens are required in this compound modifier.)
3. a $25-million-a-year salary
(Three hyphens are required in this compound modifier.)
4. a $10-million- to $20-million-a-year national increase
{Two hyphens are needed in "$10-million-" to correctly employ the use of suspended hyphenation in this example, correct?}
5. But: a $2 million contract
{Not: a $2-million contract. Hyphen unneeded here.}
6. a $25,000- to $30,000-a-year sinecure
(Hyphen after "$25,000" as part of the suspensive hyphenation.$
7. a ten- to twenty-cent-a-day increase
(Same logic.)
8. a ten- to twenty-cent increase
(Same logic.)
Thank you.