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UserTK Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The Chicago Manual of Style—Your Interpretation
The Chicago Manual 16 says this:
"If more than one phrasal adjective modifies a single noun, hyphenation becomes especially important {nineteenth-century song-and-dance numbers} {state-inspected assisted-living facility}."
Based exclusively on the manual's ruling above, are the examples below correct in accordance with that guidance—yes or no? All I'm looking for is a yes-or-no answer that I've correctly assimilated Chicago's rule above correctly and have applied them correctly to the bulleted examples below.
Keep in mind that the manual encourages that these numbers are spelled out.
• a six-foot ten-inch woman
• a sixteen-pound five-ounce package
• a seven-pound nine-and-a-half-ounce baby
• a four-month three-day-old baby
• a three-hour twenty-two-minute procedure
• a three-year two-month eleven-day project, to be exact
• a one-hour fourteen-minute thirty-two-second finish time, to be precise
• a thirty-day money-back guarantee
Thank you for any feedback.
"If more than one phrasal adjective modifies a single noun, hyphenation becomes especially important {nineteenth-century song-and-dance numbers} {state-inspected assisted-living facility}."
Based exclusively on the manual's ruling above, are the examples below correct in accordance with that guidance—yes or no? All I'm looking for is a yes-or-no answer that I've correctly assimilated Chicago's rule above correctly and have applied them correctly to the bulleted examples below.
Keep in mind that the manual encourages that these numbers are spelled out.
• a six-foot ten-inch woman
• a sixteen-pound five-ounce package
• a seven-pound nine-and-a-half-ounce baby
• a four-month three-day-old baby
• a three-hour twenty-two-minute procedure
• a three-year two-month eleven-day project, to be exact
• a one-hour fourteen-minute thirty-two-second finish time, to be precise
• a thirty-day money-back guarantee
Thank you for any feedback.
Top answer
These all appear to be correct, but spelling things out completely like this is almost never seen in US English, even in formal writing. You'd more likely see something like the following: a 6'-10" woman a 16 lb. 5 oz.
- These all appear to be correct, but spelling things out completely like this is almost never seen in US English, even in formal writing.
- You'd more likely see something like the following: a 6'-10" woman a 16 lb.
- 5 oz.
- package a 7 lb.
- 9 1/2 oz.
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15 Answers
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These all appear to be correct, but spelling things out completely like this is almost never seen in US English, even in formal writing. You'd more likely see something like the following:
a 6'-10" woman
a 16 lb. 5 oz. package
a 7 lb. 9 1/2 oz. baby
a 4 mo. 3 day old baby
a 3 hr. 22 min. procedure
a 3 yr., 2 mo., 11 day project, to be exact
a 6'-10" woman
a 16 lb. 5 oz. package
a 7 lb. 9 1/2 oz. baby
a 4 mo. 3 day old baby
a 3 hr. 22 min. procedure
a 3 yr., 2 mo., 11 day project, to be exact
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UserTK• a six-foot ten-inch woman• a sixteen-pound five-ounce package• a seven-pound nine-and-a-half-ounce baby• a four-month three-day-old baby• a three-hour twenty-two-minute procedure• a three-year two-month eleven-day project, to be exact• a one-hour fourteen-minute thirty-two-second finish time, to be precise• a thirty-day money-back guaranteeOnly the la
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If this is what you meant, it doesn't follow Chicago's rule that I posted above.
• a six-foot, ten-inch woman
• a sixteen-pound, five-ounce package
• a seven-pound, nine-and-a-half-ounce baby
• a four-month, three-day-old baby
• a three-hour, twenty-two-minute procedure
• a three-year, two-month, eleven-day project, to be exact
• a one-hour, fourteen-minute, thirty
• a six-foot, ten-inch woman
• a sixteen-pound, five-ounce package
• a seven-pound, nine-and-a-half-ounce baby
• a four-month, three-day-old baby
• a three-hour, twenty-two-minute procedure
• a three-year, two-month, eleven-day project, to be exact
• a one-hour, fourteen-minute, thirty
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You cannot break up 'six foot ten inch' into 'six-foot' and 'ten-inch'. 'Six foot/feet ten inch' is a single unit.
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I think that if I added the smaller measurement, foot, ounce, day, etc, I wouldn't use any hyphens.
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These were correct, then, based on Chicago's guidance.
• a six-foot ten-inch woman
• a sixteen-pound five-ounce package
• a seven-pound nine-and-a-half-ounce baby
• a four-month three-day-old baby
• a three-hour twenty-two-minute procedure
• a three-year two-month eleven-day project, to be exact
• a one-hour fourteen-minute thirty-two-second finish time, to be prec
• a six-foot ten-inch woman
• a sixteen-pound five-ounce package
• a seven-pound nine-and-a-half-ounce baby
• a four-month three-day-old baby
• a three-hour twenty-two-minute procedure
• a three-year two-month eleven-day project, to be exact
• a one-hour fourteen-minute thirty-two-second finish time, to be prec
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If more than one phrasal adjective modifies a single noun, hyphenation becomes especially important:
{nineteenth-century song-and-dance numbers}
{state-inspected assisted-living facility}.
{nineteenth-century song-and-dance numbers}
{state-inspected assisted-living facility}.
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fivejedjonI think that if I added the smaller measurement, foot, ounce, day, etc, I wouldn't use any hyphens.You have to, because it is a phrasal adjective. Did you see Chicago's rule?
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