Hyphen rules

The hyphen's main job is to glue words that act as a single description before a noun, so the reader doesn't trip.

See it work

Move the description around and watch the hyphen:

She is a well-known author.

✓ "Well-known" works as one description before the noun, so hyphenate.

Before the noun: hyphenate

a well-known writer, a part-time job, a 10-year-old girl.

After the noun: usually not

The writer is well known. The job is part time. The words no longer work as a unit modifying a noun that follows.

No hyphen after -ly adverbs

a highly skilled team, a newly built house. The -ly already tells the reader it modifies the next word.

Prefixes

Most prefixes close up (reelect, nonprofit, preheat). Use a hyphen before a capital (pre-Victorian), with self-, ex-, all- (self-aware, ex-partner), and to avoid misreading (re-cover a sofa vs recover from illness).

Numbers

Hyphenate compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and fractions used as adjectives (a two-thirds majority).

Frequently asked

Is it "e-mail" or "email"?

Most current style guides (AP, Chicago, Merriam-Webster) use email.

Do you hyphenate "long term"?

Before a noun, yes: "a long-term plan". After, no: "planning for the long term".