This Punctuation Mark Is More Important Than You Think

Just ask the man-eating chicken.

So why not leave it to the grammar nerds to debate such mundane minutiae? Knowing when to use a hyphen can save you from a lot of embarrassment. Consider the following examples:

Bear with me for a bit while I get into the nitty-gritty. (Come on; if you’re reading this, you care at least a little about this stuff, right?) When used in a compound modifier (two or more words that modify a noun), hyphens help to clarify the meaning of phrases that can be interpreted multiple ways. The hyphen tells the reader that all of the words in a modifying phrase work together to describe the noun.

In the “man-eating chicken” example, the hyphen indicates that “man” is functioning as part of the adjective rather than as a noun. In a more ordinary example, in the phrase “real-time management,” the hyphen clarifies that the management is being done in real time, rather than the time management being real.

AP also omits hyphens with -ly modifiers — for example, recently released study, highly skilled employees, newly discovered planet and critically acclaimed film.

Not sure whether to use a hyphen? Ask yourself whether there’s ambiguity. And watch out for that man-eating chicken.

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