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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
No hyphens for topics
Hi. I think I saw phrases like "alphabet tracing" and "alphabet tracing activity" as topics for lessons. Why isn't there a hyphen in either of those phrases? Thank you for your help in advance.
Top answer
Hi This is surprisingly difficult! I found a link that explains it, which is below A simple rule for your example might be that you do not need the hyphen when you are just putting nouns together to make a noun phrase: alphabet tracing activity However, you might use it if the phrase becomes a verb or adjective ... - It's taken him ten minutes to alphabet-trace the letter M - I'm quitting as a primary school teacher.
- Hi This is surprisingly difficult!
- I found a link that explains it, which is below A simple rule for your example might be that you do not need the hyphen when you are just putting nouns together to make a noun phrase: alphabet tracing activity However, you might use it if the phrase becomes a verb or adjective ...
- - It's taken him ten minutes to alphabet-trace the letter M - I'm quitting as a primary school teacher.
- My alphabet-tracing days are over But here is the link ...
- com/words/hyphen
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4 Answers
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Hi
This is surprisingly difficult! I found a link that explains it, which is below
A simple rule for your example might be that you do not need the hyphen when you are just putting nouns together to make a noun phrase: alphabet tracing activity
However, you might use it if the phrase becomes a verb or adjective ...
- It's taken him ten minutes to alphabet-trace
This is surprisingly difficult! I found a link that explains it, which is below
A simple rule for your example might be that you do not need the hyphen when you are just putting nouns together to make a noun phrase: alphabet tracing activity
However, you might use it if the phrase becomes a verb or adjective ...
- It's taken him ten minutes to alphabet-trace
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Hi. Thank you. I think we use hyphens to form noun phrases like "basket-weaving" or "cookie-baking." I think they are correct. Does it mean they are an exception to your "simple rule"? Thank you for your help in advance.
eg,
We will do cookie-baking at ten.
eg,
We will do cookie-baking at ten.
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Hi
Thanks for your reply
I think that the hyphen's optional: there's nothing wrong with putting it in or leaving it out
- Don't forget I'm going to my basket weaving course this evening
My feeling is that this looks less cluttered and there isn't any doubt that the nouns in the middle of the sentence go together
In a list, maybe, the hyphen would look b
Thanks for your reply
I think that the hyphen's optional: there's nothing wrong with putting it in or leaving it out
- Don't forget I'm going to my basket weaving course this evening
My feeling is that this looks less cluttered and there isn't any doubt that the nouns in the middle of the sentence go together
In a list, maybe, the hyphen would look b
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dave_anon I think it's a matter of style rather than correct punctuationI agree. I think that the answers you provided, directly and through the link, are helpful, but learners should be aware that this is a grey area. Michael Swan notes in his normally very helpful Practical English Usage, "The rules about hyphens are complicated, and usage is not ve
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