Using Hyphens with Compound Nouns
2022-06-04
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will continue to answer a question from Yousra, from Egypt, about using hyphens when making compound nouns.
2Hello, my name is Yousra from Egypt.
3I would like to know when I should use a hyphen (-) between two words like, "top-selling" or "well-being."
4Thanks.
5Dear Yousra,
6Thank you for your question! In this week's program, we will learn some general rules for creating compound nouns with hyphens.
7In last week's program, we talked about using hyphens to create a compound adjective.
8For example, top-selling, meaning, "having the most sales."
9A hyphen (-) is used to combine two or more words together.
10A compound noun is two or more nouns combined to create a single noun expression.
11While we write most compound nouns as one word ("raindrop") or two separate words ("high school"), some compound nouns use a hyphen.
12For example, "well-being," or the state of being happy, healthy, or successful.
13We use hyphens with compound nouns so that the sentence is clear and understandable.
14Just like compound adjectives, you can create compound nouns from adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and other nouns.
151. When combining a verb and an adverb to create a compound noun, use a hyphen.
16The hyphen connects the adverb to the verb and not another word in the sentence.
17For example, let's look at the compound noun, "take-out."
18It means food you order from a restaurant to pick up and take with you.
19Every Friday night I love getting take-out from my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant.
202. A hyphen is required for compound nouns made from two nouns.
21These types of nouns act as a unit, like in these examples, "English-speakers" or "hunter-gatherer."
22There are over 1.5 billion English-speakers in the world!
23There are many hunter-gatherer societies today that still depend on the natural environment for food.
243. Always check your dictionary if you are unsure if a compound noun requires a hyphen.
25There are many exceptions to these rules.
26And, sometimes, a word that once required a hyphen changes over time to become a one-word compound or a two-word compound.
27Please let us know if these rules, explanations, and examples have helped you, Yousra.
28What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
29And that's Ask a Teacher.
30I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will continue to answer a question from Yousra, from Egypt, about using hyphens when making compound nouns. 2Question: 3Hello, my name is Yousra from Egypt. 4I would like to know when I should use a hyphen (-) between two words like, "top-selling" or "well-being." 5Thanks. 6Answer: 7Dear Yousra, 8Thank you for your question! In this week's program, we will learn some general rules for creating compound nouns with hyphens. 9Review of hyphens 10In last week's program, we talked about using hyphens to create a compound adjective. For example, top-selling, meaning, "having the most sales." 11A hyphen (-) is used to combine two or more words together. 12What is a compound noun? 13A compound noun is two or more nouns combined to create a single noun expression. While we write most compound nouns as one word ("raindrop") or two separate words ("high school"), some compound nouns use a hyphen. For example, "well-being," or the state of being happy, healthy, or successful. 14We use hyphens with compound nouns so that the sentence is clear and understandable. Just like compound adjectives, you can create compound nouns from adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and other nouns. 15How to use hyphens to make compound nouns 161. When combining a verb and an adverb to create a compound noun, use a hyphen. The hyphen connects the adverb to the verb and not another word in the sentence. For example, let's look at the compound noun, "take-out." It means food you order from a restaurant to pick up and take with you. 17Every Friday night I love getting take-out from my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. 182. A hyphen is required for compound nouns made from two nouns. These types of nouns act as a unit, like in these examples, "English-speakers" or "hunter-gatherer." 19There are over 1.5 billion English-speakers in the world! 20There are many hunter-gatherer societies today that still depend on the natural environment for food. 213. Always check your dictionary if you are unsure if a compound noun requires a hyphen. There are many exceptions to these rules. And, sometimes, a word that once required a hyphen changes over time to become a one-word compound or a two-word compound. 22Please let us know if these rules, explanations, and examples have helped you, Yousra. 23What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 24And that's Ask a Teacher. 25I'm Faith Pirlo. 26Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 27Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 28______________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30compound noun- n. (grammar) two or more nouns combined to create a single noun expression. 31unit - n. a single thing or a separate part of something larger 32societies - n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values