When to Use a Hyphen

Think of the hyphen as the handyman of grammar.

The hyphen's main job is

• to link two or more words that function together as a noun or a modifier (compound words)

but it's also useful in a variety of other ways and helps to fix situations that are otherwise confusing or ambiguous, such as

• splitting words at the end of a line or
• clarifying punctuation

But wait—there's more! You should also call on the reliable ol' hyphen to:

• express numbers between 21 and 99: thirty-three
• join a prefix to a word that requires capitalization: pro-American
• join a single letter to a word: x-ray
• join the prefixes ex-, self-, all-, and sometimes cross- to a word: self-help

In addition to its typical tasks, this handyman can even work to create emphasis and effect, like when your mom hired that miracle worker to turn your bland bathroom into a zebra-print-meets-cheetah-print paradise. See what that hyphen did there? Magic.