Where have all the hyphens gone? Long time passing …

First posted December 2014, again in 2016, updated 2019 . . . why? Because from what I keep seeing, it’s worth reminding everyone who uses the AMERICAN grammar system of the basic rules for hyphens.

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Using hyphens seems to have become a non-event. Seriously. Are we so confused about how to use them that we just ignore them? Are there hoarders out there, filling jar after jar with them, betting on the law of supply and demand? (Good luck with that.)

Hyphens are essential when the meaning of a sentence can get lost without one — or a reader can end up laughing at a writer — neither of which is usually a good outcome.

So, here are three rules for using hyphens (beyond using them to break words into syllables):

1. In compound numbers, when writing the numbers out. The first one is twenty-one and the last is ninety-nine.

a. I have thirty-nine confirmed pledges.

b. This is the twenty-first century.

c. The check was for three hundred forty-four dollars.

2. In compound nouns, which unfortunately do NOT follow any pattern. These are terms you’ll have to look up in a dictionary or a good grammar book like The Gregg Reference Manual or the Chicago Manual of Style (see its table for hyphenation here). Some are separate words (decision maker), some are hyphenated (a 12-year-old), and some are one solid word (nonprofit). And…