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Grammar

What Are Hyphens Used For? A Guide to Using Hyphens in Writing

Hyphens are used to create compound words and to hyphenate compound modifiers preceding a noun to provide clarity. Hyphens have many uses, rules, and exceptions.

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

Hyphens are used at the word level in grammar. A hyphen isn’t part of sentence structure like end punctuation, dashes, or parentheses

Hyphens are used to create compound words and to provide clarity in the presence of compound modifiers preceding a noun. Hyphens have many uses to aid a reader’s understanding — and even more rules for writers to follow.

Review best practices on when to use a hyphen. Then, conveniently check your text for proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker

What Is a Hyphen and What Is It Used For?

A hyphen is a short horizontal line (-); on a keyboard, it appears next to the number zero (0). 

Hyphens don’t indicate a break in thought like an em dash (—) does. They work within and between words to help provide clarity. Using a hyphen with a word is also referred to as “hyphenating” a word.

Hyphens Between Compound Modifiers Before a Noun

When there are two or more modifiers (adjectives or adverbs that modify or provide additional information) preceding a word, a hyphen can help to provide clarity in a sentence. 

Example (with modifiers: fast, talking):

  • Correct: She is a really fast-talking salesperson 
  • Incorrect: She is a fast talking salesperson. 

In the above example, the hyphen between the modifiers makes it clear that she is a salesperson who talks fast. 

Without the hyphen, she could just as easily be a talking salesperson who moves fast, which isn’t the intent and doesn’t make much sense. 

The two modifiers work together with the help of the hyphen.

Example (with modifiers: gluten, free, vitamin, rich):

  • Correct: The gluten-free, vitamin-rich bread is good for you.
  • Incorrect: The gluten free vitamin rich bread is good for you.

Without hyphens, the string of modifiers doesn’t have the correct structure to help a reader understand the sentence’s intended meaning. 

Hyphenating Modifiers Following a Noun

When a compound modifier appears after a noun, the hyphen is still necessary if it clarifies the sentence. If it doesn’t, it can be eliminated.

Examples:

  • That is a well-known restaurant. 
    • The restaurant is well known.
  • That is a fifteenth-century building.
    • The building was built in the fifteenth century.

However, hyphenation is often very important for a sentence’s meaning and clarity, even when the modifier appears at the end of a sentence:

  • The wedding reception was family-style.
  • The horror movie was spine-tingling
  • They’re so self-aware.

How to know whether to hyphenate modifiers following a noun

Unfortunately, there is not one specific rule to memorize for whether a hyphen appears in a modifier after a noun. 

The best way to know whether to place a hyphen in these cases is to read the sentence with and without a hyphen and determine which is the easiest to read and understand. When in doubt, consult your style guide or a dictionary. 

Hyphens With Compound Modifiers Ending in -ly

As a general rule, most adverbs ending in -ly that are part of a compound modifier do not need a hyphen. 

Examples:

  • She has a terrifyingly loud scream.
  • He is a highly regarded physician.
  • They are a happily married couple.
  • The newly opened bakery has amazing scones!

Each of these examples has two modifiers, but they work together clearly without needing a hyphen.

Hyphenating Compound Nouns

Not all compound nouns require a hyphen, but many do. 

Examples:

  • He drives a tractor-trailer.
  • My sister-in-law is self-employed.
  • The check-in counter is on the left.
  • She runs cross-country.

Then again, many compound nouns don’t need a hyphen such as hot dog or coffee cup. The best way to know whether a compound noun is hyphenated is to check the dictionary. 

Hyphens With Ages as Modifiers

The age of a person (or thing) is hyphenated when it modifies a noun and precedes it, whether the age is written out or in numerical form:

Examples

  • She is a 30-year-old woman.
  • He has a two-year-old car.

When an age does not directly precede the noun, it can go without hyphens: 

Examples:

  • The woman is 30 years old.
  • His car is two years old. 

When an age is being used to represent a noun, it gets hyphens:

Examples

  • The woman has a two-year-old.
  • They dropped their 18-year-old off at college last week.

Hyphens and Prefixes

A prefix is a syllable attached to a root to add to or change its meaning. Examples of common prefixes include: pre-, de-, re-, anti-, ex-, self-, and un-, to name just a few. 

Words with prefixes are prevalent in our everyday language. In most cases, words with prefixes are not hyphenated.

Examples:

  • I was unimpressed by the late assignment.
  • I want to rearrange the room for a better interior design!

Then again, sometimes words with prefixes are hyphenated. The prefixes non-, semi-, and pre- are sometimes hyphenated. 

 Examples: 

  • That contract is non-negotiable.
  • The hair dye package says it is semi-permanent.

But not always:

  • That was a preemptive decision.
  • It’s the semiannual sale!

To add to the confusion:

Sometimes, a hyphen might help clarify the meaning of a word or differentiate two words that are spelled identically but mean different things (homographs, which are a type of homophone):

  • I don’t walk for exercise, just for recreation.
  • I had to start my painting over again! The re-creation took five hours. 
  • I’d like to resolve the issue.
  • I lost my homework. Now I need to re-solve all the math problems.
  • They decided to resign from the position.
  • Please re-sign that paper. 

While it is usually safe not to hyphenate a word with a prefix, there are many exceptions. The best way to know for sure is to check the dictionary. 

Hyphens and Numbers

Here are some examples of how hyphens are used with numbers:

  • Spelled-out numbers from 21 to 99: thirty-two, sixty-eight
  • Spelled out fractions: one-third, two-fourths
  • Ratios or odds: 3-1, 50-1
  • Ranges: 5:30-8:15 p.m., $40-$55 per hour, ages 9-17

Hyphens and Spelled-Out Words

If spelling out a word by the individual letters in writing, place a hyphen between each letter:

 Examples: 

  • B-I-N-G-O
  • “Don’t give them any C-A-N-D-Y. It’s too close to bedtime!”

Final Thoughts

Sometimes, hyphen use feels like second nature. We can tell when two modifiers need to be hyphenated because we can see the potential confusion without them. However, there are too many compound modifiers, compound nouns, prefixes, and exceptions to hyphen grammar rules to memorize them all. 

If you cannot easily tell whether a word or set of words needs to be hyphenated, consult a dictionary or review your text with a grammar checker.

Learn more grammar best practices in our top guides:

Melissa Fanella

Melissa Fanella is a writer, editor, and marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in content and messaging for businesses and nonprofits. Her expertise is in crafting authentic, people-first content that is compelling and engaging for audiences and positioned for business goals.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

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Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

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