Got Gold? Need Punctuation Pointers! III.

My final blog entry on the Roadshow ad has to do with hyphenated words. Usually, a hyphen is placed between a verb and an adverb when the two words are combined so the combination word can describe a noun. Here are some examples:

...her cashed-in winning ticket

...the decades-long recession

...the check-in time for this event

When the verb appears in the normal VERB position in the sentence and has an adverb after it, the two should NOT be hyphenated. The Roadshow ad offered a great example of this grammar glitch:

If you go to the Roadshow, you can cash-in your items for top dollar.

Whoops! No hyphen is needed here. The sentence should read as follows:

If you go to the Roadshow, you can cash in your items for top dollar.

BONUS POINT: This same rule applies with compound words that do NOT have hyphens. Look at the difference between the sentences in each pair below:

My crew will set up (verb position) the chairs and tables in the conference room.

The setup (adjective position in front of noun) chart for the conference room will be available in the morning.

You must follow up (verb position) with your doctor next week.

We do not have a followup (adjective position in front of noun) procedure in place.

For more examples of hyphen use and compound word use, click on either of these topics in the index at the right.