But there are times when a “ly” adverb does need a hyphen. “Near” is not an adverb, or if people have been using it as an adverb, that usage should be deprecated! This overlooks the fact that most Bible translations that use the phrase (John 3:16) do not hyphenate it, the KJV and the NASB being the most common. He passed only the course. Posted in adverbs, hyphen at 7:06 am by dlseltzer. Deciding on whether it should be hyphenated, depends on how it’s being used. (adjectival) I keep seeing the likes of “newly-minted doctor” or “visually-impaired cat” regularly these days and it makes me crazy! 2. to undergo. In simple words, hyphens are used between words to form hyphenated words. I’ve never thought of it as really being governed like spelling or grammar or punctuation. Notice the shading that happens: When the adverb ends in -ly, it needs no hyphen (e.g. That door is locked. Hanging (or floating) hyphens connect 2 words to a base word or a number that they share. In most cases it is compound adjectives–adjectives that act as one idea with other adjectives–that get hyphenated in front of nouns. Up to date is used as an adverb. Don’t hyphenate -ly adverbs. A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that is used to join words or to separate the syllables of a single word. I’ve never thought of hyphenation as something forma that has any real “rules” per se. In short: I have a son who is the only one I beget. The play is second-rate. It is a sign of declining education that ambiguity is possible in the sequence of “adverb adjective noun.” The presence of the hyphen only confirms that decline. Response: I agree. barefoot. The Chicago Manual of Style gives the same advice. About “near-universal”. When such compounds follow the noun they modify, hyphenation is usually unnecessary, even for adjectival compounds that are hyphenated in Webster’s (such as well-read or ill-humored). But here it is in a different construction: Compound adjective: It is an only-child situation. . Adverbs are a pain in the butt. There is no likelihood of ambiguity and the adverb ending in ly indicates that the next word will be another modifier, not a noun: highly complex problem; she is highly regarded but not when the compound comes after the noun: There are some beautiful looking flowers in the garden. We often use the hyphen to break a word into two parts … Hyphen With a Noun, Adjective Or Adverb and a Present Participle. — AP Stylebook, 2013 edition. The reason my countrymen get confused about issues like this is because sometimes we read books and articles by writers from Great Britain, so our eyes get used to seeing things sometimes written “the wrong way” – not really wrong, of course, but wrong from the perspective of the style rules for American English. Adverbs always modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. The second set describes a quality of something. They can only be an adverb; nothing else. His music was also well known in England. Here, the hyphenation makes it obvious that the noun that’s being modified is “begotten son.”, 2) Adverb: I have an [only begotten] son. For that, see my companion article, When to Hyphenate Adjectives. The style guides talk a lot about compound modifiers in general and, in particular, compound adjectives before and after a noun. The Problem of Self-Conscious Writing, ‘The Dearly Beloved’: A Novel for Troubled Times, Using Pull Quotes, Display Quotes, Block Quotes, and Epigraphs in Your Writing. That sounds humorous, but actually I’m not joking. Siva. As usual with grammar rules, once you hear the answer and understand the principle, hyphenating compounds turns out to be pretty easy. The phrase friendly-looking man is hyphenated because friendly is an adjective. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. In the examples above, they modify adjectives. Don’t ask why — just don’t hyphenate words that end in “ly.” Punctuation rules are hard to grasp. So many people take solace in the all-but-universal “rule” to not hyphenate an adverb ending with “-ly.” She had an “ illegally issued license,” not an “ illegally- issued” one. 3 Responses to “3 Questions About Hyphenation with Adverbs” Dale A. The interns competed for the extremely prestigious position. Oh, that ‘only’ rears its head even in this setting. For instance, the word family ends in -ly, but since it isn’t an adverb, you would put a hyphen when using it to describe something like a family-owned restaurant. His books are world-famous. Don’t hyphenate compound adjectives — modifiers — that contain adverbs. (The words in the compound adjective "three-page" are linked with a hyphen to show they are part of the same adjective.) My mother’s anniversary is fast approaching and I intend to gift-wrap her present. Please, please, please discuss the use of hyphenation (and lack thereof) of adverbs with adjectives. Most of us know the rule “Do not hyphenate an ‘-ly’ word.” This rule perhaps need a little more definition. The woman is quick-witted. Choosing up-to-date or up to date doesn’t have to be difficult. Only he passed the course. When the compound follows the noun or pronoun and contains a present participle, do not hyphenate if the participle has a verbal function, but hyphenate if it is adjectival in nature: The narrative is fast-moving. The general rule about hyphens is that they are distracting and should only be used if they resolve an ambiguity or lack of clarity. Repeat words instead of using a hanging hyphen. Only the outdated Webster an Darby versions hyphenate it. When a modifier that would be hyphenated before a noun comes after a form of the verb “to be,” you usually keep the hyphen to avoid confusion. Ideally, students will be placed in schools in paired groups. Is it something that’s becoming more acceptable? You’ll know that, unless you’re British, you don’t. For good measure, I looked in at the American section of OxfordDictionaries.com where I found this directive: With compound adjectives formed from the adverb well and a participle (e.g., well-known), or from a phrase (e.g., up-to-date), you should use a hyphen (or hyphens) when the compound comes before the noun: well-known brands of coffee; According to AP, we must hyphenate well when it is part of a compound modifier: well-dressed, well-informed, well-known. A few final notes: Compound modifiers that include an adverb (words that end in ly) never get hyphenated, while those that include well always do (when they come before the noun), for example, She is a well-known musician. Use a hyphen with the adverbsbetter, best, ill, least, little, most, much, worse, worst andwell, if they are followed by a past participle and describe the following noun. A phrase like “slog it out,” meanwhile, is not a generic phrase, so we’ll want to hyphenate its adjectival usage: The recently dethroned champions will need to take more than a slog-it-out approach. “only begotten Son”—Some punctilious editors insert a hyphen between “only” and “begotten” in the phrase “only begotten Son,” arguing that it is a compound adjective. There are many “-ly” words that are adjectives. If an adverb answers how and can have an -ly attached to it, place it there. Compounds are also frequently hyphenated in compound adjectives like "funny-looking" or "sun-bleached," but are typically left open when the first element is an adverb, as in "lightly salted peanuts." See the difference? Example. (The ly ending with adverbs signals to the reader that the next word will be another modifier, not a noun.) But explanations of why to shun that hyphen are rare, as are acknowledgments that, as with most “rules” of English, there are exceptions. Terrible things happen with who and whom, their and they’re, and myriad soundalikes; single-syllable words get hyphenated at the end of lines; and -ly adverbs always get hyphenated. The editors of the Chicago Manual of Style seem to disagree: When such compounds follow the noun they modify, hyphenation is usually unnecessary, even for adjectival compounds that are hyphenated in Webster’s (such as well-read or ill-humored). I read an article that included this sentence: “Smith did his best during a nationally-broadcast … As an Amazon Associate and a Bookshop.org Affiliate, QDT earns from qualifying purchases. However, the rule about hyphens and -ly adverbs is easy enough to master: When a compound modifier–two or more words that express a single concept–precedes a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound except the adverb very and all adverbs that end in -ly. I have to make a confession. When a non-“-ly” adverb is used in a compound adjective preceding a noun it modifies, link them with a hyphen: The well-written novel is a bestseller. Hyphenated words are compound words that are made up of two or more words usually with hyphens (-) between … Straightforward instructions, these, but when I looked up “well known” in the U.S. part of OxfordDictionaries, I found this among the examples of usage: The result is well-known, and we need only linger to consider the crucial lesson from this. @Saphira It wasn’t a selective quote; you included parts irrelevant to the disagreement, which was when they “follow the noun”. Thanks for confirming the validity of my preferred usages! Style and tone; Documenting future features; Writing accessible documentation; Writing for a global audience; Writing inclusive documentation; Avoiding excessive claims Anon, It has to modify acclaimed. Compound modifiers describe the noun that follows with greater precision. Do you hyphenate or not?   Leave the hyphens out. They modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. When we combine a noun or adjective and a present participle (a word ending in ‑ing) to form a unit of meaning that describes another word, use a hyphen to make that unit of meaning clear. “He was a highly acclaimed actor,” not “highly-acclaimed.” Why? Hyphens with adverbs. This is currently happening with hyphens following adverbs. Then when we go to write something ourselves, we have conflicting memories—adverbs sometimes with the hyphen, sometimes without. Compound adjectives that contain an adverb ending in -ly do not need a hyphen. When to hyphenate adverbs, then, is “never,” if you’re American. In practical use, it’s highly doubtful anybody would misunderstand “an only begotten son,” whether or not there is a hyphen anywhere. As was mentioned earlier, compound modifiers that come before a noun should be hyphenated.