What words should be hyphenated?

There are five types of words that should be hyphenated:

1. Compound adjective + noun

When you use a compound adjective before the noun, you should hyphenate:

• there's off-street parking here
• chocolate-covered raisins
• this is a family-owned business
• small-town charm

When compound modifiers come after the noun, you don’t need to hyphenate:

• parking here is off street
• raisins are chocolate covered
• this business is family owned
• charm of a small town

2. Age + noun

If age is being used as an adjective before the noun, you should hyphenate:

• The five-year-old boy is ready for school.
• The toddler is a two-year-old terror.

But if the age comes after a noun or verb, you don’t hyphenate it:

• The boy is five years old.
• The terrifying toddler is two years old.

3. Numbers 21 through 99

You need a hyphen when writing out numbers twenty-one and ninety-nine, and everything between.

4. Some prefixes

Normally, prefixes don't need hyphens, but they do when the word is a proper noun or particularly long to begin with:

• Place your order pre-Christmas to enjoy our discount.
• There's a huge problem with under-representation of minority groups.

We always need hyphens with the prefixes anti- and self-:

• I'm a self-motivated person.
• Move in an anti-clockwise direction.

5. For clarity

Hyphens can be used to clarify confusing or awkward combinations, like shell-like or de-ice.