hyphens: compound adjectives

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• Hyphenate
  • Noun-plus-adjective compounds
  • Noun-plus-participle compounds
  • Noun-plus-gerund compounds
  • Adjective-plus-noun compounds and participle-plus-noun compounds
  • Adjective-plus-participle compounds
  • Adjective-plus-noun-plus-“ed” compounds
  • Preposition-plus-noun compounds
  • Compounds ending in adverbs
  • Compounds containing verbs
  • Compounds of three or more words
  • Compound proper adjectives
  • Compounds containing colours
• Do not hyphenate
• Additional information

Hyphenate

Noun-plus-adjective compounds

Hyphenate compounds with the structure noun-plus-adjective, whether they’re used before the noun or after the verb:

• He bought duty-free goods. / The goods were duty-free.
• Invest in tax-exempt bonds. / The bonds are tax-exempt.

Noun-plus-participle compounds

Hyphenate noun-plus-participle compounds regardless of the position:

• They skied down the snow-capped mountains. / The mountains were snow-capped.
• This was a time-consuming activity. / This activity was time-consuming.

Exceptions: A number of noun-plus-participle compounds, including handwritten and handmade, are written as one word.

Noun-plus-gerund compounds

Hyphenate two-word compound adjectives consisting of a noun plus a gerund when they come before the noun:

• the decision-making process
• a problem-solving approach
• a profit-sharing plan
• a tape-recording session

Adjective-plus-noun compounds and participle-plus-noun compounds

Hyphenate adjective-plus-noun and participle-plus-noun compounds that modify another noun:

• present-day Derby
• full-time employment
• large-scale development
• special-interest groups
• working-class neighbourhoods
• compressed-air engine

Also hyphenate adjective-plus-noun and participle-plus-noun compounds when they come after a linking verb (for example, be) and act as an adjective:

• The development was large-scale.
• Her position is full-time.

But don’t hyphenate when they follow an action verb and they don’t act as an adjective:

• Development proceeded on a large scale.
• He works full time.

Adjective-plus-participle compounds

Hyphenate adjective-plus-participle compounds, whether they’re used before the noun or after it:

• Taradiddle is an odd-sounding word. / The word is odd-sounding.
• He was a smooth-talking con artist. / The con artist was smooth-talking.

Adjective-plus-noun-plus-“ed” compounds

Hyphenate compounds made up of an adjective plus a noun to which the ending -ed has been added, in any position in the sentence:

• able-bodied
• many-sided
• short-handed
• strong-willed

Preposition-plus-noun compounds

Hyphenate compound adjectives made up of a preposition and a noun:

• after-tax income
• in-service courses
• on a per-gram basis
• out-of-province benefits

Compounds ending in adverbs

Hyphenate compound adjectives that end with an adverb of direction or place (in, out, down, up, etc.) when they precede the noun:

• a built-up area
• a drive-by shooting
• all-out competition
• the trickle-down theory

Compounds containing verbs

Hyphenate a compound adjective that contains a finite verb:

• a pay-as-you-go approach
• a would-be writer
• a work-to-rule campaign

Compounds of three or more words

Hyphenate compound adjectives of three or more words that include an adverb or a preposition and are used before the noun:

• a long-drawn-out affair
• an up-to-date approach
• the cost-of-living index
• a subject-by-subject analysis
• on-the-job training

Compound proper adjectives

Hyphenate compound proper adjectives that form a true compound:

• the Anglo-Saxon period
• the Sino-Russian border
• the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Greco-Roman art
• an Asian-Canadian author

But don’t hyphenate those in which a proper adjective is combined with a simple modifier:

• Latin American governments
• Middle Eastern affairs
• North American interests
• Central Asian republics

Compounds containing colours

Hyphenate compound adjectives made up of two colours, whether they’re placed before or after the noun:

• It was covered with blue-green algae.
• It was blue-green.

Hyphenate compound adjectives containing a colour that ends with the suffix -ish only when they precede the noun:

• The tree had bluish-green leaves.

Don’t hyphenate adjectives indicating a specific shade (even if they precede the noun):

• dark green paint
• a bright red dress
• strawberry blond hair

Do not hyphenate

Don’t hyphenate French or foreign words used as adjectives or placed in italics:

• a pure laine Quebecker
• their a priori reasoning
• a fare bella figura mindset

(Note, however, that adjectives already hyphenated in French or foreign languages retain their hyphen in English: avant-garde filmmaking, a laissez-faire approach, etc.)

Don’t hyphenate proper nouns used as adjectives:

• a Privy Council decision
• a New York State chartered bank

Don’t hyphenate words in quotation marks:

• a “zero tolerance” approach

Don’t hyphenate chemical terms used as adjectives:

• a calcium nitrate deposit
• a sodium chloride solution

Additional information

• hyphens: compounds beginning with adverbs
• hyphens: suspended compounds
• hyphens: nouns with gerunds