The basic rule is, Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun. Do not use hyphens when you are simply stating the age of something.
How do you write 17 years old?
When to Hyphenate Year Old “Year old” should be hyphenated when it modifies a noun that follows it. That is, when the phrase is describing the age of a person, place, or thing, and it precedes that noun in a sentence, then it should be written as year-old.
Are en dashes and hyphens the same?
En dashes, which are about the width of an upper-case N, are often mistaken for hyphens. But, traditionally, en dashes function as a kind of super hyphen. They’re meant to give you a little extra glue when you have a compound modifier that includes a multi-word element that can’t easily be hyphenated.
In which case should you use a hyphen instead of a dash?
A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text (not at the bottom: that’s an underscore). It’s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does.
How should a 14 year old write?
The former, a compound adjective and therefore typically hyphenated, is used to describe an individual who is fourteen years old.
How do you write 50 years old?
“Fifty years old” should be styled just like that, as explained in the previous response; in reference to a fifty-year-old, hyphenate as shown whether what is fifty years old is explicit or implicit.
Where do we use en dash?
An en dash is a mid-sized dash (longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash) that is mostly used to show ranges in numbers and dates. It can also be used for clarity in forming complex compound adjectives. The en dash derives its name from the fact that it is meant to be the same width as the letter N.
What are the different types of dashes?
There are actually three different types of dashes: the em-dash, the en-dash, and the 3-em dash. The em-dash can be used to replace parentheses, colons, and commas.
How do you use dashes and hyphens correctly?
The dash is often used after an independent clause. The hyphen, on the other hand, is used to join two words together like yellow-green. It usually does not have a space between the words. Also, the dash tends to be slightly longer than the hyphen, and usually would have spaces before and after the symbol.
When should a hyphen be used?
Generally, you need the hyphen only if the two words are functioning together as an adjective before the noun they’re describing. If the noun comes first, leave the hyphen out. This wall is load bearing.
What is the difference between a dash and a hyphen?
A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes. A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The most common types of dashes are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).
Do you put a hyphen around the word age?
Here are some simple rules for using hyphens with ages: (1) There is never a hyphen after the word old. (2) There is never a hyphen before or after the word years (Note: This rule applies only to years not year .) (3) There are always hyphens around the word year (provided it’s not in a predicate adjective following a or one ).
When do you use an en dash for compound adjectives?
1. The MLA does not use an en dash for compound adjectives formed from lowercase open compounds and another word. Instead, we hyphen the entire compound: We do, however, use an en dash when a single compound adjective is a proper noun: When the multiword element is mixed case or includes a hyphenated term, we prefer to reword:
What is the use of the en dash in a sentence?
Now, that is a rather fussy use of the en dash that many people ignore, preferring the hyphen. The em dash has several uses. It allows, in a manner similar to parentheses, an additional thought to be added within a sentence by sort of breaking away from that sentence—as I’ve done here.
