 A compound word is made of two or more

words that together express a single idea.

  a. An open compound means that the words of

the compound are written separately, (New
Year’s Eve, credit card, sea salt).

 b. A hyphenated compound separates the

words by hyphen(s) (brother-in-law, high-
maintenance, force-feed).
  Compound words may be permanent or
temporary.  A permanent compound has been
used so often and so widely that it is now in
common usage and can be found in the
dictionary.  A temporary compound is one that
joins words by hyphen(s) as needed, we can
create our own temporary compounds.  They
say what WE want to convey to the reader.
 Hyphens
 A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark used to join
the separate parts of a compound word.

Examples:

well-oiled (as in "well-oiled machine")

6-foot (as in "6-foot shark")
cooking-oil
ex-President
 Why do we even bother with a hyphen?  To
avoid confusion.  When we join an adjective to
a noun to create a compound adjective, without
a hyphen the reader isn’t sure what is
describing (modifying) what.   A tall tree stump
indicates that the stump is from a tall tree, but
if you are writing about the tall stump of a
tree,  a tall-tree stump tells people that the
stump was tall.  The hyphen makes that clear. 
 A compound  adjective is a single adjective comprising
more than one word.  The words in a compound adjective are usually
grouped together using hyphens.
 Examples:
* a never-ending story
* an all-bearing circuit device
* a spine-chilling experience
* a brain-hammering advertisement


 One way to decide if a hyphen is necessary is
to see if the phrase might be ambiguous
without it. For example, "large-print paper"
might be unclear written as "large print paper"
because the reader might combine "print" and
"paper" as a single idea rather than combining
"large" and "print." Another such example is
"English-language learners." Without the
hyphen, a reader might think we are talking
about English people who are learning any
language rather than people who are learners
of the English language.
 1.  Compound Adjectives need to be formed when you use two or
more adjectives that need to be used together to modify the noun. 
These compounds should be hyphenated, or you can get a
sentence that doesn’t say what you meant it to say.8ikm

 Incorrect: The short legged dog ran for the door.  (You are saying
that the dog is short and had legs!)

 Correct: The short-legged dog ran for the door.     (Now you are
saying that the dog’s legs are short.)

 Incorrect: Her red orange car was easy to see from a distance.
 (Was the car red or orange?)

 Correct: Her red-orange car was easy to see from a distance. 

(Now you are saying that the car was a color that was a
combination or red mixed with orange.)
 Some compound adjectives formed with
1)an adverb or a noun plus a past participle
a great-looking car. 

2) a noun, adjective, or adverb with a present

participle are always hyphenated when they
come before the noun: 
 a well-liked President, the well-written essay.  red-
cheeked child, ice-covered streets, a great-looking
car. 
 IF the compounds come after the noun, they
are not hyphenated.  The President was well
liked.  Her essay was well  written.  The child was
red cheeked.  All the streets are ice covered.   That
car is great looking!  Sometimes these
compounds become permanent, and are
hyphenated even after the noun, sometimes
they become permanent solid compounds
(merge into one word).  That’s why it’s
important to use your dictionary if you have
any doubt at all.
 Some compound adjectives use an adjective
and a noun to which -d or -ed has been added:
blue-eyed man, curly-haired woman, multi-grained
bread.  
 Some of these compounds become permanent
hyphenated or solid compounds after years of
use.
 we must use hyphenation is to join a word to a
past participle to create a single adjective
preceding the noun it modifies: "a well-
intentioned plan," for example, or "a horseshoe-
shaped bar." Be aware, however, that we do not
hyphenate these same phrases when they
FOLLOW the nouns they modify:
 --This is a government-mandated program.
--The program is government mandated.
 --She is a well-respected student.
--She is well respected as a teacher.
 Another basic rule is that we never hyphenate
compounds that are created with "-ly" adverbs, even
when they PRECEDE the nouns they modify: "a fully
developed plan," for example, or "a nationally certified
teacher." Here are more examples:
 --We sent in heavily fortified troops.
--The troops were heavily fortified.
 --All newly employed nurses must be evaluated
regularly.
--All the nurses on the eighth floor are newly
employed.
 --A beautifully designed room can be both relaxing and
invigorating.
--The living room is beautifully designed.
 TEST YOURSELF
 Can you spot any errors in the use of compounds
in the following sentences?
 1. The war in Iraq has been a closely-monitored
media event.
2. The Department of Transportation maintains
rights-of-way alongside all roadways.
3. Follow up activities have been scheduled for
June and July.
4. We must follow up on these changes.
5. Long term planning must be an essential goal of
this company.
6. The committee centers all of its
recommendations in performance based standards.
 ANSWERS
 1. The war in Iraq has been a closely monitored media event.
[No hyphen with an "-ly" adverb, even though here it helps
form a compound adjective preceding a noun.]
 2. correct [Webster's hyphenates "right-of-way" and the
plural form "rights-of-way" in all circumstances--even when
the phrase is functioning as a noun, as in this sentence.]
 3. Follow-up activities have been scheduled for June and
July.
 4. correct
 5. Long-term planning must be an essential goal of this
company.
 6. The committee centers all of its recommendations in
performance-based standards.