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Question about hyphen in words functioning as an adjective

An Sionnach Glic · 2013-06-24 16:36:02

Is the use of a hyphen between words/nouns functioning as an adjective a strict rule of English grammar, or is it more a question of style? I saw mention of it in 'Eats, Shots and Leaves', but it didn't go into great details from what I remember. By that I mean should I always write 'French-language books' instead of…

24-06-2013 04:36PM

#1

An Sionnach Glic

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Posts: 126

Is the use of a hyphen between words/nouns functioning as an adjective a strict rule of English grammar, or is it more a question of style? I saw mention of it in 'Eats, Shots and Leaves', but it didn't go into great details from what I remember.

By that I mean should I always write 'French-language books' instead of 'French language books', or does it vary according to the type of words functioning as an adjective? Any authorative citations would be much appreciated.

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Comments

#2 24-06-2013 11:53PM

MathsManiac

Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,595 ✭✭✭

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Posts: 1571

This might help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_modifier

The hyphenation practices outlined there match my own understanding, which was gleaned from books I don't have to hand right now. I'll post a follow-up when I have them.

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