Hyphen

Hyphen - Indicates that two words should be thought of as one, especially when using two adjectives or groups of words that are acting as a unit.

Writers use hyphens to:
 * join compound adjectives before a noun ( hard-working student)
 * join compound nouns and two-word and multiple-word concepts (mother-in-law, over-the-counter, twelve-year-old, know-how, skin-deep)
 * most sources no longer recommend hyphenating paired nationalities (African American, Italian American)
 * add a prefix to a word when clarity is needed or to avoid doubling vowels (anti-intellectual)
 * divide lettered words ( T-shirt, L-shaped, X-ray, U-turn)

> Or should I say **E-Day,** as in Envelope Day. Jilly and I stood on her front porch, fighting for the small amount of shade from the maple planted several feet from the house. The air was still and hot, and we fanned ourselves in quick bursts with the identical envelopes we clutched in our hands. In these envelopes were our futures. Molly Brown Middle School divided each **seventh-** and **eighth-grade** class into three “tracks” of about 150 kids. So rather than feeling like a small fish in a **450-student** pond, we’d feel like a small fish in a 150 kids. (p.3) > --Denise Vega, //Click Here// > > I heard the **click-clack-click** of dominoes and smelled the cigar smoke before I found Dad and Abuelo relaxing on the **screened-in** back porch. (p.22) > --Nancy Osa, //Cuba 15// >
 * D-day,