Accidentally Ironic Images That Show the Universe Has A Weird Sense of Humor.

Spotlight on CMOS 7.90 and 7.91

One of the main reasons to insert a hyphen between two words that aren’t normally hyphenated is to help readers sort out the text when those words are used as a compound modifier before a noun. For example, an apartment on the ninth floor of a building is a ninth-floor apartment; the added hyphen makes it immediately clear that ninth-floor is a single compound that modifies apartment.

Such hyphens make reading a little easier, but they also add a tiny bit of clutter to the page or screen. When comprehension isn’t threatened, they can often be left out.

The Case of the ‑ly Adverb

The classic example of when not to hyphenate a compound modifier involves ‑ly adverbs, like beautifully in the phrase beautifully behaved dog. The logic is that because beautifully is an adverb—and obviously so, thanks to that ‑ly ending—readers won’t need any help figuring out what modifies what.

There’s no such thing as a beautifully dog, not to mention a behaved dog that’s beautifully. So there’s no chance of a misreading.

This logic works well with Chicago style, which favors a “spare” approach to hyphenation, as described in the intro to the hyphenation table at CMOS 7.96. The gist of this approach is that when neither the dictionary nor the hyphenation table provides an answer, a hyphen should be added to a compound that doesn’t normally include one “only if doing so will prevent a misreading or otherwise significantly aid comprehension.”

In an earlier and somewhat more elaborately punctuated age, however, compound modifiers formed with ‑ly adverbs tended to get hyphens, as the following examples demonstrate:

In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection. (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, vol. 2 [London, 1813], 124)

. . . namely, the highly-prized spermaceti, in its absolutely pure, limpid, and odoriferous state. (Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale [New York, 1851], 378)

Her discretions interested him almost as much as her imprudences: he was so sure that both were part of the same carefully-elaborated plan. (Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth [New York, 1905], 6)

The point of resurrecting those dusty old examples is to show that adding a hyphen to an ‑ly compound isn’t the worst idea. Those words, after all, belong together.

But the earliest edition of CMOS, published one year after The House of Mirth first appeared, ruled against such hyphens (see 1st ed. [1906], ¶ 167). And according to the latest edition of CMOS and many other modern guides, even the most meticulously edited text can do without them (see CMOS 7.93).

Established Open Compounds

Extending the example of ‑ly compounds, a hyphen can often be omitted from other types of compounds that present no risk of a misreading. For instance, the unhyphenated examples in CMOS 7.90—public welfare administration and graduate student housing—are perfectly clear as written.

That’s at least partly because both “public welfare” and “graduate student” are familiar as open compounds—​especially in the context of administration and housing. It wouldn’t be wrong to add a hyphen to either of those compound terms, but it’s unnecessary (see CMOS 7.91).

If you’re faced with a compound modifier that seems to work just as well without a hyphen as with, but you’re not quite sure, check the dictionary. If the term is listed there as an open compound, the hyphen can probably be left out; otherwise, go ahead and add one.

For example, the phrase high school diploma (no hyphen) seems just as clear as high-school diploma (hyphen); not only is high school diploma a familiar phrase, but you’d have to make an effort to misread it. And the term high school is listed in Merriam-Webster as an unhyphenated noun, so in this case the hyphen can be left out. If you need more evidence than that, Merriam-Webster also includes an entry for high school reunion—no hyphen.

In less clear-cut cases, a hyphen will usually be the better choice. For example, the compound high drama is entered as a noun in Merriam-Webster, but that term isn’t all that common as a modifier. So a phrase like high-drama situation is best hyphenated in accordance with CMOS 7.96, section 2, under “adjective + noun.” And in some cases, dictionaries will list a hyphenated adjective form—as with high fidelity (n.), high-fidelity (adj.).

How Small Is That Animal Hospital?

Sometimes a hyphen in a compound modifier does more than simply make reading a little easier—it provides essential information. Take the example of a small-animal hospital. Without a hyphen, the phrase might easily refer to a small hospital for animals. With a hyphen, the phrase clearly refers to a hospital for small animals.

And that’s what we’d recommend—in general contexts (see also CMOS 5.96).

But let’s say you’re writing or editing an article for The Veterinary Journal, a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1875. Here are a few excerpts from “Effect of Attire on Client Perceptions of Veterinarians,” by E. Bentley, H. Kellihan, C. Longhurst, and R. Chun, from volume 265 (2020):

Clients volunteered to answer a survey in the small animal waiting area over a 3-month period.

Only three studies have examined veterinarian attire and client perceptions in veterinary medicine. In the first, 154 clients of a 24-h small animal emergency clinic were surveyed about their preferences of dress for veterinarians in a variety of situations.

Respondents were recruited by signs placed in the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Care (UW Veterinary Care) small animal hospital waiting area.

The Veterinary Journal isn’t averse to hyphens, as this sentence from the same article’s introduction shows (not to mention the modifiers “3-month” and “24-h” in the examples above):

The purpose of this study was to do a large-scale survey of the clientele of an academic teaching hospital to determine the influence of attire on client perceptions of veterinarian competence and comfort with veterinarians.

The point is that in this journal—one in which “small animal” is a frequently used phrase that has a specialized meaning (think cats, dogs, hamsters, etc.)—the hyphen simply isn’t considered necessary. Everyone—meaning anyone who would read something in a veterinary journal (and not only those who are members of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association)—knows what “small animal hospital” (or clinic or whatever) means.

But in more general contexts, a hyphen is more likely to be used, as in the journal PET Clinics. (Note that PET stands for “positron emission tomography”—an imaging technology that can be used on both humans and animals. The acronym doesn’t have anything to do with pets.)

In the 2020 article “Advances in Preclinical PET Instrumentation,” by Mahsa Amirrashedi, Habib Zaidi, and Mohammad Reza Ay, which investigates the use of PET scanners on small animals, the phrase “small animal” is hyphenated as needed:

Salient progress and considerable advances in small-animal PET imaging has had and will continue to have a far more profound effect on drug development and biomedical research.

The IRIS PET from Inviscan (Strasbourg, France) represents the latest generation of commercial small-animal scanners operating either in rotating or stationary modes.

The other key factor that should be taken into account when devising a small-animal scanner is the shape of the detector arrangements.

Those hyphens help readers who aren’t necessarily immersed in the world of small-animal care understand that we’re talking about small animals, not small scanners.

Takeaway

When in doubt about whether you should add a hyphen to a particular compound modifier before a noun, lean toward hyphenation, which is almost never wrong. But to avoid cluttering your documents with unnecessary hyphens, consider what works best in any given context—while also consulting the hyphenation guide in CMOS and the dictionary entries from Merriam-Webster.

Any small animals in your life probably won’t appreciate your attention to detail, but human readers just might.

Word of the Day

Portend

adjective | por-TEND

Portend is usually used in formal and literary contexts as a verb meaning “give a sign or warning that something is going to happen.” The “something” in question is often, though not always, considered bad or unpleasant.

“The sudden drop in stock prices portend a looming economic downturn.”

Today’s Writing Tip

What Is a Clause?

A clause is a statement or a question that generally consists of a subject and a verb phrase and constitutes a complete thought. Sentences can consist of a single clause, but they often include two: a main, or independent, clause and a subordinate, or dependent, clause.

Main Clause vs. Dependent Clause

A main clause can form a complete sentence. (The preceding statement is both a clause and a sentence.) A subordinate clause, by contrast, depends on a main clause to provide the primary proposition of the sentence, which is why it’s also called a dependent clause.

“Which is why it’s also called a dependent clause” is itself a dependent clause. One could write or speak that sequence of words on its own, and listeners and readers would understand that it pertains to the previous sentence.

However, in formal writing, it’s best to link such constructions to a main clause with a punctuation mark—usually a comma, though a dash can also link a main clause to a dependent clause, as it does in this sentence.

Dividing Sentences with Two Main Clauses

A sentence may contain two main clauses; in this sentence, a semicolon separates the two main clauses, although a dash may also be employed. Note that the semicolon could be replaced with a period—the segments of the sentence that precede and follow the semicolon could be formatted as a separate sentence.

The preceding sentence could also be divided into two: one sentence could be formed from the clause preceding the dash, and another could consist of the clause following the dash.

Using Colons in Clauses

The sentence preceding this statement shows another punctuation mark that can distinguish one main clause from another: the colon. Note, however, that in the sentence before this one, what follows the colon is a sentence fragment—“the colon” includes a subject but no verb phrase—so that sentence does not contain a main clause and a dependent clause.

Importance of Dependent Clauses in Written Communication

It’s a good thing for written communication that English allows—even encourages—dependent clauses. Otherwise, writing would consist solely of main clauses. A succession of main clauses causes reader fatigue. Engagement in a piece of text is enhanced by a variety of sentence structures. (I’ll stop annoying you with this string of main clauses now.)

Today’s Quiz

Question 1:

Which of the following sentences correctly uses a main, or independent, clause and a subordinate, or dependent, clause?

a) The game was quite intense, as the team fought hard.

b) I enjoy playing piano also it’s a good stress buster.

c) Tea is brewing; it will be ready in a few minutes.

d) The food was delicious, however, the dessert was too sweet.

Question 2:

Which punctuation mark should you use to link a main clause to a dependent clause?

a) a colon

b) a semicolon

c) a comma

d) a period

Question 3:

Which of the following punctuation marks is also appropriate for linking dependent clauses to a main clause?

a) a dash

b) a question mark

c) a hyphen

d) an exclamation point

Question 4:

Which of the following sentences appropriately represents the structure of a sentence containing both a main and a dependent clause?

a) I believe it’s going to rain, though the weather report portends clear skies.

b) The weather report portends clear skies; nonetheless, I believe it’s going to rain.

c) The weather report that portends clear skies; I believe it’s going to rain.

d) The weather report makes me believe it’s going to rain.

Question 5:

Which one of the following sentence structures is regarded as fatiguing for the reader?

a) a sentence containing only dependent clauses

b) a sentence containing both an independent clause and a dependent clause

c) a succession of sentences containing only independent clauses

d) a succession of sentences containing both an independent clause and a dependent clause

The correct answers are as follows:

1. a) The game was quite intense, as the team fought hard. (The dependent clause “as the team fought hard” is correctly attached to the independent clause “The game was quite intense.”)

2. c) comma (Commas are commonly used to link an independent clause to a dependent clause.)

3. a) dash (A dash can be used ito link a dependent clause to an independent clause.)

4. a) I believe it’s going to rain, though the weather report portends clear skies. (This sentence is structured correctly with the independent clause “I believe it’s going to rain” and the dependent clause “though the weather report portends clear skies.”)

5. c) a succession of sentences containing only independent clauses (According to the lesson, a succession of independent clauses causes reader fatigue.)