http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/TDelaney/7975 I’ve had some reminders that I have this blog. I apologize for the absence, but I’ve been extremely occupied.   One request I had was to address the little dash called a hyphen, and tell about its uses. Although people say Morse Code is a system of dots and dashes, the dashes are really hyphen-size in that code. But let's talk about the more common use of a hypen first.   When writing, hyphens are used to break up a word to go to the next line (after a return on the keyboard). The break is placed after a syllable. For example, the word usu- ally would be broken up like it is in this sentence.   But hyphens play a bigger role when you want to form a compound adjective modifying a noun or pronoun. They help the reader understand that the compound adjective modifies the noun. Otherwise, without the hyphens, the sentence could get confusing.   For example: According to The Grammar Desk Reference by Gary Lutz and Diane Stevenson, there’s a difference between a homeless outreach worker and a homeless-outreach worker.   The first outreach worker is homeless. The second outreach worker is one who helps the homeless.   Here’s a long compound adjective: The first-of-its-kind hybrid. You can see how awkward that might be without the hyphens: The first of its kind hybrid. Hmm, I never heard of a kind hybrid. Have you?   There are many more rules that apply to the hyphen, but the ones above are the most common for hyphen usage.   Get it? Got It! Good. I’ve had some reminders that I have this blog. I apologize for the absence, but I’ve been extremely occupied.   One request I had was to address the little dash called a hyphen, and tell about its uses. Although people say Morse Code is a system of dots and dashes, the dashes are really hyphen-size in that code. But let's talk about the more common use of a hypen first.   When writing, hyphens are used to break up a word to go to the next line (after a return on the keyboard). The break is placed after a syllable. For example, the word usu- ally would be broken up like it is in this sentence.   But hyphens play a bigger role when you want to form a compound adjective modifying a noun or pronoun. They help the reader understand that the compound adjective modifies the noun. Otherwise, without the hyphens, the sentence could get confusing.   For example: According to The Grammar Desk Reference by Gary Lutz and Diane Stevenson, there’s a difference between a homeless outreach worker and a homeless-outreach worker.   The first outreach worker is homeless. The second outreach worker is one who helps the homeless.   Here’s a long compound adjective: The first-of-its-kind hybrid. You can see how awkward that might be without the hyphens: The first of its kind hybrid. Hmm, I never heard of a kind hybrid. Have you?   There are many more rules that apply to the hyphen, but the ones above are the most common for hyphen usage.   Get it? Got It! Good. en-us