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.

Be careful with Hyphens

Here is a sentence that appeared in Jerry Underwood's financial column in The Birmingham News recently:

For Compass, the cuts in Birmingham come after a decades-long growth trajectory that made it one of the Birmingham-area's top employers with 3,000 workers.

A good "hyphen rule of thumb" is that two descriptive words put together to create an adjective should be hyphenated. Therefore, decades-long is correct because it becomes one adjective that describes "growth trajectory."

However, Birmingham-area's is incorrect because "Birmingham" describes "area," which is a noun (top employers of the Birmingham area).

The sentence should read as follows:

For Compass, the cuts in Birmingham come after a decades-long growth trajectory that made it one of the Birmingham area's top employers, with 3,000 workers.

CHECK-IN OR CHECK IN?

I went to get my mammogram this week (hope if you need one that you got yours this month, too, or whenever it is due). While at the 119 Health Center, I noticed this card sitting on the desk:


Please check-in at the front desk.


Whoever created this card forgot that "check-in" should be used as a NOUN or an ADJECTIVE. In the VERB slot, as in the sentence above, the hyphen is omitted. This sentence should read as follows:


Please check in at the front desk.


Below are some examples of how to use "check-in" correctly:


The check-in desk (ADJECTIVE) is located in the lobby.


After check-in (NOUN), the plenary session will be in the auditorium.


While you are here in the blog, why not click on the "compound words" site in the index on the right and see the other compound word problems I've come across.


Have a great day!