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Goronsky Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
old fashioned
We hyphenate 'old-fashioned' before a noun, as in 'old-fashioned ideas.'
But would we hyphenate 'old fashioned' when it follows a verb as in the following sentence? I say no, and we should omit the hyphen.
Not this: My grandfather is old-fashioned.
This instead: ... is old fashioned.
Do you concur that we could omit the hyphen when 'old fashioned' follows a verb?
Thanks.
But would we hyphenate 'old fashioned' when it follows a verb as in the following sentence? I say no, and we should omit the hyphen.
Not this: My grandfather is old-fashioned.
This instead: ... is old fashioned.
Do you concur that we could omit the hyphen when 'old fashioned' follows a verb?
Thanks.
Top answer
Do you concur that we could omit the hyphen when 'old fashioned' follows a verb? No. Why would you?
- Do you concur that we could omit the hyphen when 'old fashioned' follows a verb?
- No.
- Why would you?
- It's the same adjective.
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8 Answers
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Do you concur that we could omit the hyphen when 'old fashioned' follows a verb?
No. Why would you? It's the same adjective.
No. Why would you? It's the same adjective.
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I emailed the OWL Writing Lab at Purdue and received this response today (see below; no hyphens after verbs).
Yes, you should drop the hyphens in compound adjectives when they occur after the verb. See the following site for more detailed explanation:h
00
That's a long link to read. Are you referring to this part?
But when the same term appears on the other side of the verb, or without a noun to modify, we drop the hyphen:
She went into the warm-up room to warm up.
He went to the sight-reading room to do some sight reading.
In these examples, "warm up" and "sight reading" aren't adjectives, so
But when the same term appears on the other side of the verb, or without a noun to modify, we drop the hyphen:
She went into the warm-up room to warm up.
He went to the sight-reading room to do some sight reading.
In these examples, "warm up" and "sight reading" aren't adjectives, so
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Yes.
They said no hyphens in these five examples.
1. She is old fashioned.
2. He is up to date.
3. Her face was beet red.
4. She is good looking.
5. The technology is cutting edge and state of the art.
But use a hyphen in:
The test was fill-in-the-blank. Without the hyphens, it could be read as a command, OWL said.
They said no hyphens in these five examples.
1. She is old fashioned.
2. He is up to date.
3. Her face was beet red.
4. She is good looking.
5. The technology is cutting edge and state of the art.
But use a hyphen in:
The test was fill-in-the-blank. Without the hyphens, it could be read as a command, OWL said.
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Hmmm.
Let's focus on 'old-fashioned'. Apart from saying 'No', did they give you a clear reason, please?
Clive
Let's focus on 'old-fashioned'. Apart from saying 'No', did they give you a clear reason, please?
Clive
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Nope. Just "You should drop the hyphens in compound adjectives when they occur after the verb."
Chicago Manual 16 says:
Chicago Manual 16 says:
7.81 Compound modifiers before or after a noun
When compound modifiers (also called phrasal adjectives) such as open-mouthed or full-length precede a noun, hyphenation usually lends clarity. With the exception of proper nouns (such as United00
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