Prefix and Suffix Hyphenation Tip

As a professional copy editor of more than seven years now, I see lots of manuscripts. As a longtime lover of reading, I read a lot of books. And hyphenation problems abound in both (yes, traditionally published as well as Indie pubbed).

For instance, I'm reading a 2003 nonfiction paperback right now, a how-to guide directed at authors, by a well-known traditional publisher (which I will not name here) and already have multiple marginalia concerning misspellings (dealing with unneeded hyphens), and I'm only on page 34 of 241 total pages. Sad but true. And this publisher should be using the same American book guidelines as I do (16CMS and Web11, defined below). I usually contact the publisher with these finds for correction in the next reprint, as I will for this one.

Anyway ...

So here's your quick overall tip regarding hyphenation when affixing prefixes and suffixes to a word:

DON'T.

DO NOT.

DO NOT. DO NOT. DO NOT.

Yes. You read that right. And you will be correct more times than not if you DO NOT hyphenate when adding prefixes and suffixes to other words. There are exceptions of course, but for general purposes DO NOT hyphenate when adding prefixes/suffixes.

Want examples?

Here are some: prenuptial agreement, postpartum depression, preschool, antebellum, midday, nonfiction (this one is a particular pet peeve of mine, especially when misspelled as "non-fiction" by authors, authors of nonfiction!), etc.

I don't know if a quick glance at the dictionary is causing this problem or not. After all, there is a "post-" prefix entry and a "post" as a noun entry and a "post" entry as a verb, adverb, etc. The hyphen in the initial prefix entry just differentiates the bald, stand-alone prefix from the noun/verb/adverb entries.

NOTE: Just because there is a prefix entry (like "anti-") or a suffix entry (like "-ward") that INITIALLY shows the hyphen to connote its "fixability" (affixing to another word) DOES NOT MEAN THE HYPHEN STAYS WHEN JOINING IT TO A WORD. Read further in the dictionary's entries to see the actual uses of the prefix or suffix. You will most likely not see the hyphen in use there with the examples.

If you want to delve further into this, then look up each compound word in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition (Web11) to confirm.

However, beware, because sometimes 16CMS 7.85 (The Chicago Manual of Style, Sixteenth Edition, rule 7.85) will override Web11, meaning 16CMS allows more hyphenless prefix/suffix combinations than Web11 shows, in keeping with 16CMS's "spare hyphenation" rule.

For a further level into this madness called the English language, I could tell you about the exceptions, then about the exceptions to the exceptions. I kid you not.

The basic hyphenation exception is that, if two of the same vowels end up together (like "anti-inflammatory" with its two Is), then you need the hyphen for added clarity. BUT that doesn't always work with two Es. For example, "pre-engineered" is hyphenated per Web11. Yet "preenrollment" is not, also per Web11. Go figure.

Hence my earlier statement regarding "exceptions to the exceptions."

So I suggest everyone wanting the easiest fix to just go with the basic rule discussed above: DON'T HYPHENATE WHEN AFFIXING PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES TO WORDS.

As a copy editor, I thank you. You authors who end up using my copyediting services have made my job so much easier and have made your manuscript so much "cleaner."

As a reader, I thank you. You authors not using me as a copy editor have made my reading pleasure so much more enjoyable as my copy editor side didn't kick in during my reading-for-fun time.

In case you are interested, I'll be doing more of these copyediting tip posts as my work allows. In other words, if I'm busy copyediting projects, you won't see many of these. If I'm not busy earning a living, then you'll see more posts like these.

Here's to happily reading more good books. There will never be a shortage of good books, so, authors, both traditionally and Indie published, keep on writing!

"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)

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What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley

The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Prefixes DO NOT TAKE HYPHENS IN GENERAL USAGE

Most prefixes don't take hyphens when joined with a word. There are exceptions, but, if you always take out the hyphen, you'll be right many more times than you'll be wrong.

If you want to know a tad more about the exceptions, then leave in the hyphen when two Is (anti-inflammatory for example) or two As (intra-arterial) come together. This is generally correct all the time. 16CMS* 7.85. However, when two Es fall together, look up each such conjoined word in Web11**. This combo seems to have many more exceptions, such as these dictionary entries: preemergence yet pre-engineered.

Also anytime a prefix or suffix is added to a proper noun, a hyphen (or sometimes an N-dash) is needed.

Back to prefixes in general.

In Web11, you'll find these prefixes listed with a hyphen following each entry: anti-, bi-, mid-, pre-, etc., but THE HYPHEN IS JUST TO HIGHLIGHT ITS PREFIX CAPABILITY. DO NOT USE THE HYPHEN WHEN JOINING WORDS TO THESE PREFIXES in general. Just like when looking up other words within Web11, you'll find "distinguisher" elements depending on how the word is used: adverb, adjective, preposition, etc. So the prefix form may be designated by the hyphen after (or the hyphen before when speaking of suffixes), but that is all it is. An identifier. Remember "less" is a word in and of itself, and yet "-less" is the suffix form. Again the hyphen (before or after) is just to highlight how this particular prefix/suffix entry is available for joining with other words. WITHOUT THE HYPHEN. Here are four examples taken directly from Web11: childless, witless, dauntless, fadeless.

Can you tell this is a particular pet peeve of mine? Ha! We all have them. This is one of mine. But it also makes me a great copy editor.

And I share this knowledge to help make your manuscripts shine with a professional polish. Best wishes and many successes to us all.

*CMS = The Chicago Manual of Style, Sixteenth Edition
**Web11 = Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

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A US Copy Editor's Perspective: What Are the Two Most Common Errors Found in Manuscripts?

Hyphens and commas.

Hyphens

The majority of the errors of the first can be corrected simply by consulting Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition (Web11), either manually or possibly from selecting Web11 as your default dictionary within Windows 8 or Microsoft Word (MSWord) 2013. Since I have neither, I am going by secondhand info here.

However, I do know firsthand that my MSWord 2010 edition does not have Web11 as its default for spell-checking functions, because there are misspelled words that are overlooked and correct words that have suggested spelling options given for them.

I bought a hard copy of Web11 and uploaded on my computer the disk that came with it. I use the resident soft copy as it's great and much faster than any free online Internet version while that remains as an option. Remember also that the online version does not give you full access to all the Web11 entries that are within the hard copy or its soft copy.

There are many hyphenation exceptions (like when two As or two Is are run together, and sometimes when two Es are found side by side), but your copy editor can help out there for all you Indie authors.

Of course the Web11 is for US authors. UK authors and others around the globe have their own preferred reference and style guides.

Commas

In general there are five easy rules for authors to know about in dealing with commas. The rest can be covered when your copy editor reviews your manuscripts. Here's my choice five:

16CMS 6.24 (paraphrased): Parenthetical elements midsentence take a pair of commas. Example: I was, at the least, mortified. NOTE: This sentence still makes perfect sense when you delete the phrase, the pair of commas and what was in between. Ending up with this: I was mortified.

16CMS 6.25 (paraphrased): The only one-word intros that require commas are: therefore, indeed and however. Example: However, I was tired. NOTE: When internally placed, a pair of commas is needed (per 16CMS 6.24 above). As in: I was, however, tired. Otherwise I would suggest no commas for other single words, especially with stand-alone LY-ending adverbs, unless for a pause effect or to add clarity for the reader.

16CMS 6.28 (paraphrased): If you have two complete sentences (each with its own subject and verb) that are conjoined by a conjunction, then a comma must precede the conjunction. Example: I had to run to the store for bread, but I needed to leave soon to avoid traffic. NOTE: Here is an exception example: I suppose that you know what you are doing and you can be trusted. Technically "I suppose that" is shared by both parts of this sentence, with "I" as the shared noun and "suppose" as the shared verb, so no comma is needed before its conjunction "and."

16CMS 6.29 (paraphrased): If a noun is shared within two clauses conjoined by a conjunction, no comma is needed before the conjunction. Example: I had to run to the store for bread and would need to leave soon to avoid traffic. NOTE: "I" is the shared noun here. Because each phrase is not a complete sentence on its own, no comma precedes the conjunction "and" here (as also discussed in 16CMS 6.28 above).

16CMS 6.36 (paraphrased): If your intro phrase has a verb in it, then a comma should follow that phrase. Example: If you had not driven me, I am sure I would have gotten lost.

Again there are many exceptions within 16CMS as to usages of commas (like none are needed around Jr. or Sr. or III as referring to names). These your copy editor can address.

In Closing

Per 16CMS 7.85, "In general, Chicago [Manual of Style] prefers a spare hyphenation style..."

Per 16CMS 6.16, the comma is for "a slight pause" or for "ease of reading."

As a copy editor and an Indie author, I am very interested in making our Indie manuscripts as professional as possible. To that end I believe both author and copy editor alike should always consult Web11 first, then 16CMS second, especially if you are an Indie author who is not a copy editor and has also chosen not to use such services. Whether you attempt to tackle the five comma rules above is up to you and how much you love learning more about our English language as used here in the States. But if you do, you will have given your manuscript an undeniable polish.

Best wishes to all.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

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Two More Grammar Lessons

Again, these are basics addressed here, yet I see misused too often in print.  So, today's grammar lessons are on (1) double versus single quotes and (2) hyphenated words versus compound words.

Double versus Single Quotes

Double quotes surround any dialogue.  That's the easiest-to-remember rule.  Example:  "I'm going to the grocery store.  Y'all want anything?" she asked. 

Just remember to use them in pairs.  UNLESS you have a multiple-paragraph monologue spoken by a single speaker, then start each paragraph with an opening quote for paragraph one, paragraph two, on to the ending paragraph.  Which is the only paragraph that ends with a closing quote (see CMS 11.36).

Double quotes can also surround text that is not dialogue.  Example:  She didn't consider herself a "real" author because she had not yet sold anything. 

In the above context, the quotations around the word real were used to show emphasis, just as my italicized font of the same word produces its own emphasis.  Whether you use quotes or italics probably depends on what other quotes and italics are nearby, in my opinion.  Keep 'em varied yet concise and clear is my mantra.

Single quotes are ONLY used within double quotes.  Example:  "Do you know what he said to me?" she yelled.  "He said, 'You are no longer pretty to me anymore.' He told me that to my face.  Can you believe it?" she railed, then fell into the chair exhausted. 

That is the ONLY time you use single quotes.  If I can later think of any exception to this rule, I'll let you know.

Hyphenated Words versus Compound Words

A compound word is just that:  two words, equally usable alone, one word here and another word there, but with a third existence as a compound word.  Examples:  paperwork, homework, silverware, stemware, lovemaking. No hyphens are found within these compound words.  They are not compound words if a hyphen rightfully belongs between.

I find a lot of improperly hyphenated words in my reading.  It may boil down to something as simple as not being able to interpret Webster's correctly.  Anyway, that is my assumption here as it can be misleading when you look up any prefix or suffix.  Examples:  pre-, post-, anti-, mid- for prefixes and -ful and -less for suffixes.

Even though "pre-" has its own entry within Webster's, that DOES NOT MEAN all words that start with this prefix must have the hyphen next.  Wrong.  The hyphenated entry highlights the prefix nature of this combination of letters.  The hyphen denotes the need for this prefix to be joined with other words.  The hyphen at the END of this prefix demands that any conjoining of a word must be at the back end.

Just like a suffix such as "-less" and "-ful" only allow for mating with a word at the front end.  You do NOT retain the hyphen.  Examples:  mindless and roomful.

These prefixes and suffices are NOT WORDS.  Not in their standalone hyphenated forms found in Webster's.  These are simply letter groupings awaiting a word to complete them.

I have Webster's uploaded to my laptop so I can see a listing of all words combined with "pre-" that are deemed hyphenless by Webster's.  If a particular word is not on that list, then, yes, it should be written to include the hyphen.

Within its many incarnations, whether online, digital or hardcopy, Webster's uses a raised dot to separate its syllables.  For a TRUE hyphenated usage, there is a longer hyphen shown.  I presume that is to differentiate it from the shorter hyphenlike dividers used within its pronunciation guide falling directly below or behind the syllable view of the word.  To avoid confusion.  Which we should all keep in mind.

As with most English grammar rules, there are exceptions.  In the preceding paragraph, I used the word hyphenlike.  It is not found in Webster's whether I look up "hyphenlike" or "hyphen-like" or under just "-like."  Therefore I have chosen to conjoin the noun with the suffix.  You will note though that Webster's separates any occurrence of three Ls in a row by inserting a hyphen.  Example:  bell-like (per Webster's).  That's a good rule to follow as three Ls in a row makes a red flag pop up in my mind with a misspelling alert.

Believe me, you do not want your readers stopping midsentence to question you on your spelling or grammar.  You do not want confused readers either.  So keep these structural basics in mind especially as we authors create our novels.  However, it is just as useful in the business world or when writing a complaint letter or a love letter, for that matter.

Communication is critical.  How many problems have erupted from a sheer miscommunication?  So let's try to avoid all that and get our thoughts and desires eloquently and succinctly shared with our intended audience.

P.S.  As I end this blog, I am reminded that some people will misinterpret what we are saying, no matter how painstakingly well said, based on their own experiences or mind-set.  We have no control over that.  A man who thinks all women love shopping for clothes in a mall is the victim of a generalization and, while I cannot change that oversimplification, I can choose to not be around him as his personification would irk me to no end.  I hate being lumped into a grouping where I do not belong.  My uniqueness is smothered, suffocated.  For all my commonalities with the female sex, I am an individual and like being seen for my own attributes.

Just like the credo for authors (every reader is not your intended audience), there is a similar axiom for people (everyone will not like you or see you for who you are).  That is why those rare few who see me as I see me are so precious to me.

Seek those in your life.  You will be richly rewarded.

Next Grammar Lesson: Dealing with N-Dashes and M-Dashes

You can go your whole life without needing these two.  HOWEVER, if you are an Indie-pubbed (my shorthand term) author doing it all yourself, you have need to know.  These punctuation marks are also called the En Dash and the Em Dash.

As set forth in earlier posts, my style guides—as a freelance corporate copy editor and as an author—include Webster's 11th edition and the Chicago Manual of Style 15th edition (or more commonly called the CMS, used for both novels and nonfiction work).   You may need a medical-based style manual or, if you write for newspapers, you will be using the Associated Press Stylebook aka the AP Stylebook.  Choose yours.  No matter the reference guide, there are still unifying guidelines throughout.  Like using nouns, verbs, punctuation marks.  Like if you are a U.S.–based English-speaking person, spelling book as B-O-O-K.

For those of you interested, the N-dash along with the M-dash can be found within MSWord's word processing system under the Insert tab, then choose Symbol and finally click on the Special Characters tab.  The regular old dash we all use to make hyphenated words is the shortest.  Then the N-dash is a little longer, but the M-dash is the longest.  You may have used one without knowing it.  Anytime you have used a double dash to add in a side thought, well, you were using the shorthand typing version of the M-dash.

Here's an example of where each should be used:

Hyphen:             He is one good-looking guy.
N-Dash:            The verse can be found at James 1:1–3.
Also N-Dash:    A North Dakota–style cold front struck our southern city. 
M-Dash:           She was young and tanned and probably weighed 120 pounds—oh, for the day when my scale stopped there!
Also M-Dash:    "I just thought—" she bit her lip "—that you cared for me."

So hyphens we probably all know how to use within the grammatically correct sphere, or can confirm with a quick check of Webster's.

If you are with a big or little publishing house, their production department works with the design of the books and the special characters, so they will have people to change any misused hyphens to their proper N-dash or M-dash punctuation before the manuscript is printed.

Again, if you are both the publisher and the author of your Indie works, then here's the scoop:

The N-dash is used for numbers (like the Bible verse quoted above) or for two-word proper nouns being modified into an adjective grouping (like North Dakota–cold being used as an adjective.)

The M-dash is for those off-tangent thoughts, to set them apart from the main line of thinking.  The M-dash can also be used within dialogue (see above) in place of the ellipsis (that three-dot punctuation mark that denotes a longer pause than say a comma and probably an interrupted speech pattern, either cut short by the speaker or by another person).

Webster's remains a monster go-to reference guide and, I'll repeat from yesterday's post, it gives a short grammar lesson when you look up "apostrophe."

The difference in the length of each of these dashes is miniscule, yet I think it serves a great function.  Even if our eye registers the three of them as "alike," I think our brain connotes the difference and gives each its own weight.  Like the shortest one, the hyphen, the dash, makes two-word combos into, essentially, one word.  Our readers skim over them just like the word "a."

I believe the N-dash is there to cause our neurons to take note, to take just a jot's pause to realize we may have read the location for looking up one verse, but it is actually the span of several.  Or to give our northern-based readers cause to smile when they read of a North Dakota–cold weather front hitting the South.  And the big one—the M-dash.  Shows us to take a moment to shift gears.

Our English grammar rules really do serve a function.  Like well-placed commas tell a reader when to pause and a period when to stop, then move on.  Isn't it wonderful that we can communicate to our readers "watch out, missing letter(s) here" by the simple use of an appropriately placed apostrophe.  It kind of boggles the mind.  Like the order of the universe.  But that's just it in a nutshell.  Order.  So consult your reference guides, or hire a qualified freelancer, and keep on learning.

P.S.  See today's additional Quote below, courtesy of Michelangelo.  It is so appropriate.  He states "I am still learning."  So true!