hyphens: verbs
Compound verbs may be either hyphenated or written solid. The only safe rule is to check your dictionary:
- freeze-dry
- mass-produce
- age-harden
- spoon-feed
- bad-mouth
- extra-bill
but
- waterproof
- downgrade
- sidetrack
- proofread
If the infinitive form of the verb (e.g. to air-condition) is hyphenated, retain the hyphen in all other forms, except in the case of certain gerunds (see below):
- The theatre was air-conditioned.
- You need an air-conditioning expert.
Gerunds
Hyphenate gerunds formed from hyphenated compound verbs only if they are followed by a noun object:
- Dry cleaning is the simplest way to clean a sweater.
but
- Dry-cleaning the sweater should remove the stain.
- Air conditioning is sometimes needed in summer.
but
- Is air-conditioning the building feasible?
Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Search by related themes
Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.
- Date modified: