grammar-geek's picture
grammar-geek March 20, 2014 - 10:02am

Can we forgo the ugly suspended hyphens in these for dialogue and regular writing? It looks so much cleaner and clearer to a reader than to have those dangling hyphens. Would you support it in professional writing? (I hope so!)

The movie appealed to five, six, and seven-year-olds. (Rather than: The movie appealed to five-, six-, and seven-year-olds.)

first, second, and third-grade activities
(Rather than: first-, second-, and third-grade activities)

two and four-wheel drive
(Rather than: two- and four-wheel drive)

fifteen and thirty-year mortgages
(Rather than: fifteen- and thirty-year mortgages)

pre and post-war
(Rather than: pre- and post war)

a one to two-week vacation
(Rather than: a one- to two-week vacation)

three, six, and nine-month updates
(Rather than: three-, six-, and nine-month updates)

open and closed-door policies
(Rather than: open- and closed-door policies)

long and short-term loans
(Rather than: long- and short-term loans)

But: “a ten percent-off coupon”
(The reader needs the single hyphen, I think, to fully grasp that the coupon is entitling the customer to ten percent savings off [deducted from] the original price

Thank you.

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